East Gallery

September 28 - December 21, 2019

Reception

Saturday, September 28th from 3:00pm - 5:00pm 

Artist Lecture at 4:00pm

Refreshments and light hors d'oeuvres provided

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Artist Statement

These are original digital photograph composites. They are not planned or staged, but situations are found, captured and whole photographs are combined in Photoshop.

 

It is my intention to create images unlike those I’ve seen before, break as many rules as possible, encourage flaws and explore colors, shapes, lines and textures. There is no formula. I find the amorphic figures interesting and mysterious, as there may not be any sense of who they are, where they are or what they are doing. However, my personal favorites are the more nonobjective abstract images.

 

Digital has been a new source of creative exploration for me, resulting in shapes and color combinations I would not have otherwise considered. There is always the surprise of discovery, the search for something unique, and the irony of making photos that may not eventually resemble photographs.

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www.ndmagazine.net/photographer/denis-hagen

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2nd Floor Gallery

November 20 - December 30, 2019

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“You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh." 

                                                                                                                      John Singer Sargent

 

Drawing inspiration through line and mark making is a bedrock of most great art. Sketches are the note taking of visual artists. Artists from all disciplines use sketches to figure out a subject, composition, and/or generate visual thoughts on existing work. These types of drawings are full of energy with a direct path to the artist's mind and eye. This rapid expressionistic drawing is usually never intended as a finished work. Instead, it is viewed as part of the process that helps build an understanding of form, light, and space.

This exhibit highlights sketches from the Permanent Collection that represents both local and world acclaimed artists from multiple centuries. Viewers will see each artist's individuality as it presents itself in every mark that exists on the paper.   In addition, they will be able to notice the difference between pencil, charcoal, and ink. 

The Blanden encourages you to explore your artistic expression – create a quick sketch of a work found in the one of the museum’s exhibits, in the space provided here. 

Be inspired!

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West Gallery

January 1 - October 30, 2019

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About the Exhibit

Color is a very powerful element in the world and in art. Color has a profound effect on the human brain. We see color and perceive it subconsciously. Color can have an affect on our mood, hunger, and energy level. We see the power of color in advertising and marketing. Humans are obsessed by color. Color was present even at the birth of art. Archaeologists have discovered solid smears of pure pigment placed on ancient cave walls. 

 

Color is a very complex element and we preserve it in different ways. Color is defined as an element of art that is produced when light striking an object is reflected back to the eye. There are three properties of color - hue, intensity, and value. These three properties provide us with a full range of expressive colors that transform meaningless things into art.

 

Art is created from a theory of mixing colors to produce other colors and values. A basic color theory is mixing what are called primary colors to achieve a range of colors found in nature. The three primary colors are yellow, red and blue. From these three colors, one can change the intensity and the value to create a full color map.

 

This exhibit explores the vast range of expressiveness artists can produce by using a primary hue as a main compositional subject. These artists used one or more of the three primary colors to produce art in a way that color itself is a major player within the artwork. The power of color is on full view! The richness of the value and saturation of color can be seen and enjoyed.    

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East Gallery

January 4 - March 28, 2020

Reception

Saturday, January 4th from 3:00pm - 5:00pm

Artist Lecture at 4:00pm

Refreshments and light hors d'oeuvres provided

 

Artist Statement

I paint people because I find them challenging, interesting, and overflowing with narrative. I am documenting time, place, society, and how these people fit into it—or at least my interpretation of that. We can all relate to life’s struggles, simple pleasures, emotions, and the aches and pains of aging. My paintings are a way for me to share my perspective of these facets of life. I paint people as I see them, flaws and all. My paintings are not meant to be flattering; my intention is not to please the subject and make a commission, but to create a piece of art.

 

On a strictly visual level, I see my paintings as relating fields of color that toy with balance and the eye’s path. These compositions are decorated with detail and texture, but the interplay among colors, the harmony and discord, is what excites me as a painter. I love a rudimentary, centralized composition, perfectly balanced, like a circle within a square. This simplistic solution to balance is why I like a single, frontal-facing figure. There may be elements of asymmetry to break up the piece, but the main structure is as straightforward as a Rothko or a Giacometti painting. I see the figure as subordinate to the painterly qualities—the marks, the drips, the colors, the textures—that I create.

 

I’m focusing on the details, attempting to capture the textures, the subtleties of reflecting light, and many of the things that we as people can relate to. I want the audience to form a relationship with my paintings through recollection of personal experiences—whether it is triggered by these details of the physical world, specific objects, or the people and their emotions. The viewer is meant to insert their own narrative. I like to think of the paintings as thread within the fabric that is our human coexistence. The more I can weave together, the more the audience can relate to my paintings.

 

I paint locals, friends, and heroes because they are a part of my own story. Sometimes, I use my artistic license to embellish the narrative and make the painting more exciting.

 

I encourage anyone to find me on Facebook.com/Reed.White to see progress shots, and on Instagram (@reeddeanwhite) for closeup photos.

 

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the show.

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• Drawing Inspiration: Master works from the Blanden Permanent Collection: November 23 - December 30, 2019

• Creating Unity: A Centennial Celebration of the 19th Amendment - Works by Women Artists from 1890 - Present from the Blanden Permanent Collection:                  January - December  30, 2020

• Analog It: Film-based Juried Exhibit: January 4 - March 7, 2020

• Encounters with  Nature: Selected works from the Harold D. Peterson Collection: March 21 - May 2, 2020

• Paintings by Ann Marie McTaggart: April 11 - June 27, 2020

• Faces:  Roy Burgess: May 30 - July 25, 2020

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