it is opening week at hidell brooks gallery and as always we are busy unwrapping, installing and delivering artwork. we are delighted to be having our first solo exhibition for new orleans artist amanda talley along with new trompe l'oeil paintings by seattle artist bill braun. we also have a group exhibition of new works by windy o'connor, miranda lake, and scott upton to name a few. the opening reception will be this friday, september 6th from 6-8 pm.
amanda talley received her ba in studio painting from mary baldwin college and her mfa in painting from the savannah college of art and design. her paintings were included in the 2012 group show louisiana contemporary at the ogden museum of art in new orleans. she lives and works in new orleans.
“painting, for me, is about translating the activity and movement of the outside world into a vocabulary of paint and line. light, color, and energy are reflected in a fractured window view of the underside of a live oak or in the curls and folds of an elephant ear. each painting experience becomes a challenge to push aesthetic decision-making aside, in favor of drawing in the moment. the best paintings occur when I succeed in letting action dictate form.”
bill braun's paintings amaze us every time we get new paintings into the gallery. what appears to be the ingredients for a fourth grade art project of cut out construction paper, masking tape, staples and brown craft paper loosely assembled on the wall is in reality a tight and precise execution of acrylic paint on a flat canvas.
"i don't like to give an artist statement because it undoes the premise of my work, trompe l'oeil painting. literally from the french, trompe l'oeil means “trick the eye”. an artist's statement might undo the fundamental aim of convincing the viewer, at least for a moment, that what he sees are actual objects and not a painting. the basic rules of trompe l'oeil painting are that objects are rendered in real scale, and totally within a shallow painted space. this type of painting has always been a minor branch of realist painting, but with a very long history. the athenian painters xeuxis and parrhasios in 5th century b.c. (as told by pliny the elder in his natural history) and roman murals of the 2nd century a.d., 16th century dutch vanitas painting and the 19th century philadelphia school painters, harnett, peto and haberle, are examples. today there are still trompe l'oeil painters around; i am happy to be one of them."
amanda talley will be at the opening and we look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night for cocktails and small bites. the show looks gorgeous! please call the gallery if you have any questions.
