In Your Eye Gallery celebrates diversity with Art Connections, an exhibit of five local creators whose works represent a wide range of mediums, styles and subjects.
Art Connections is the brainchild of painter and In Your Eye Gallery member artist Chad Woolbright.
The initial decision to do a group show was born out of need. Between working a full-time job in advertising and the birth of a son, Woolbright hasn’t had as much time to devote to painting over the last year.
He soon realized that he had an opportunity to highlight a variety of local artists, looking at creators whose work he admired and enjoyed.
“I wanted a wide range of styles, so I decided to invite artists that worked in different mediums,” Woolbright said.
Photographer Danny Deen captures dramatic scenes from his travels. Suzanne Peck paints fog-covered landscapes, vivid florals and bright abstracts. Sculptor Link Cowen focuses on the human form. Dan Garrett fashions abstract designs from metal.
“It was important to me to put together a show that expressed my likes and tastes,” Woolbright said. “We each share the ability to find beauty in otherwise ordinary things.”
In his own work, Woolbright paints and draws bold, colorful designs on materials including wood, Plexiglas and metal with subjects ranging from the representational to the abstract.
“I am as likely to paint a celebrity’s mug shot as I am a geometric abstract,” he said.
Woolbright doesn’t consider himself a fine artist, and he feels that he cannot paint, sculpt or produce art quite like the artists that will be showcased in Art Connections.
“I couldn’t paint flowers like Suzanne or sculpt with any precision like Link. Danny’s understanding of light in photography is extraordinary, and Dan welds and paints metal in a unique way that I find interesting.”
Although he can’t speak about the individual philosophies driving each artist, Woolbright said one common goal is to create works that others will find aesthetically appealing.
“Sometimes we hit it out of the park, and sometimes we paint over a week’s work and start all over again,” he said.
When it comes to meaning and intent, Woolbright said that people sometimes read more into a work of art than even the artist intended.
“I think it’s fantastic when someone ‘sees’ a physical object in, say, an abstract work. It may have been purely accidental by the artist, but it takes on a more personal meaning to the viewer at that point, despite the intent of the painter,” he said.
One thing Woolbright definitely hopes people will take away from the show is a work of art.
When it comes to meaning and intent, Woolbright said that people sometimes read more into a work of art than even the artist intended.
“I think it’s fantastic when someone ‘sees’ a physical object in, say, an abstract work. It may have been purely accidental by the artist, but it takes on a more personal meaning to the viewer at that point, despite the intent of the painter,” he said.
One thing Woolbright definitely hopes people will take away from the show is a work of art.
Print head: Eyeful, From photography to painting and sculpture, Art Connections exhibit unites creative community.
