Ornament in Nature
Dana Hooper, Dawn, oil, 5x5 in.
August 25 through October 23, 2022
In this exhibition our gallery artists emphasize ornamental elements. They use complex compositions and formal flare to produce decorative paintings and photographs.
Dana Hooper includes mixes of reds, yellows, and blues in buttery brushstrokes to create portraits of quirky chickens. The images are as much about thick colorful paint as they are about the birds — paint so thick the paintings grow beyond two dimensions.
Torn photographs form a spectrum of clouds and light: Bill Dewey condenses vast space and time into one photo.
Petals and leaves drop from arabesques formed by tree limbs. River water reflects trees that together consume the canvas. Decorative elements seen up close compress the foregrounds of these paintings. Randall David Tipton, Erling Sjovold, and Marcia Burtt create tightly cropped compositions whose context is utterly removed.
Anne Ward, Meg Torbert, and Susan Petty divide the canvas in their still life paintings. They juxtapose organic forms with flat interstices and patterned tablecloths.
By centering decorative elements in realist landscapes and still lifes, our artists elevate ornamentation.
Anne Ward, Backlit Still Life Objects, oil, 30x30 in.
Randall David Tipton, Magnolia, oil, 12x12 in.
