Abstract Expressions Exhibition to Open May 18th
View the abstract works of North Georgia artists, Kelly Turley, Roxane Hollosi, and Clara Blalock in historic Sellars Gallery located in the Simmons Visual Arts Center at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA. Both Kelly Turley and Clara Blalock fill their canvases with expressive, abstract mark and bold color. Roxane Hollosi pushes her mult-media creations into the realm of site specific works that find their way cascading down a wall or winding around columns. Don’t miss this breathtaking exhibit, opening in Sellars Gallery, May 18th and closing July 7th, 2023.
Listen to all three artists discuss their creative process and inspiration behind their work during the opening reception May 18th, 5:30 PM.
Opening Reception Thursday, May 18th 5:30 – 7 PM.
Artist talk to begin @ 5:30 PM
Brenau Galleries and Pearce Auditorium to Host The Brenau Collaborative Exhibition and Fashion Show
The Brenau Collaborative
Fashion Show and Student Art Exhibition/Reception
WHAT: The Brenau Collaborative
WHEN: APRIL 14-21st, 2023- Free and open to the public
Fashion Show at 6:30 PM at Pearce Auditorium
Friday, APRIL 14th
Reception will be held in the President’s Gallery and the Sellars Gallery immediately after the fashion show.
WHERE: Pearce Theatre, President’s Gallery & Sellars Gallery
Senior Capstone Exhibition: President’s Gallery
Annual Student Juried Exhibition: Sellars Gallery
Exhibiting Seniors: Juliana Cifuentes, Michaela Cope, Tameria Jeffery, Danny Doyle, Anna Feng, Dennissee Rodriguez, Destiny Clay
Contact Gena Robbins @ 770-534-6181 or email gallery@brenau.edu for more information.
Claudia Wilburn to Exhibit Solo Show at Renaissance Gallery, Downtown Gainesville on the Square
Opening Reception: April 20th 6-8 PM – Renaissance Gallery, Downtown Gainesville on the Square (On the Historic Gainesville ART WALK Circuit)
ARTIST TALK: MAY 4th, 2023 at 6PM – Renaissance Gallery- Downtown on the Square – 106 Spring Street, Gainesville, GA. 30501.
Claudia Wilburn will be having a solo exhibition titled, Navigate by Reckoning consisting of mixed media works held at the Renaissance Gallery located on the downtown square in the Renaissance Center Building at 106 Spring Street, Gainesville, GA. 30501.
Navigate by Reckoning is a solo exhibition of mixed media works created by artist and educator, Claudia Wilburn. Through an autobiographical lens and the element of oral history, Wilburn’s work exposes personal life experiences, emotional journeys, and memorabilia.
Wilburn’s larger works combine various media such as digital prints, found objects, acrylic paint, relief printing and encaustic transfers, while others begin as black line woodblock prints, imprinted onto different types of paper and collaged back together into a unified image on panel.
Ethel Almond Roberts, (Wilburn), 1894-1932, altered print on panel 36 x 24 inches
The story of Wilburn’s grandparents, who she knew personally, unfolds in each intriguing piece. However, since their passing, their history has now become an oral one, told at family gatherings and other social occasions. Many of these stories are simple, some dramatic and some complicated; interwoven in memory as complex evolving tales told around the family table. These intricate visual investigations serve as a material translation of these histories, and use ephemeral source material as a way to
bring the transitory biography – passed back and forth between family members – into a fixed pictorial realm.
Duke Franklin Creech, 1890 – 1978, altered print on panel, 36 x 24 inches
Wilburn has researched branches of her family tree from the present to the Revolutionary War and back to the Old World, where photographic portraits of her great-grandparents have been used as references.
The source photos that have been damaged or lack specific details require Wilburn to use secondary, period-correct source images and artifacts to help realize the image. In the source photo for the work, Ethel Almond Roberts (Wilburn), 1894-1932, The portrait of her has a soft focus, and the details of the Victorian Mourning Garments with their black, velvety texture are unclear. To assist Wilburn with filling in the surface and pattern of the clothing, she used similar garments from an appropriate time period and with a similar style from the Brenau University Historic Clothing Collection as a model for the missing details of the dress.
As the generations progress back in history, hard sources will fall by the wayside, pushing Wilburn to rely only on other sources such as a historic clothing collection, cultural ideas or records and archived materials to complete her work.
The facts on the census ledger only reveals the basic facts of the individual, where the stories and legends contained in a spoken narrative reveal the person. In this way, with a combination of facts and shared general histories the subject no longer belongs simply to Wilburn or her family. Rather, they become a touchstone that can be a part of everyone’s story.
Wilburn’s hope is that when observing her work, viewers are reminded of their own historical connection and forebears, and that shared stories connect us all.
Claudia Wilburn takes a final look at her work, above, during the installation of her solo exhibition, to be held at Renaissance Gallery in downtown Gainesville on the square.
Claudia Wilburn is a mixed-media artist currently living in Northeastern Georgia and teaching as an Associate Professor at Brenau University where she is the Department Chair for Art & Design and Director for the Center for the Arts & Design. She received her Masters of Fine Art from the University of South Carolina and her BFA from Clemson University.
Wilburn grew up in the Low country of South Carolina and has lived throughout the South. Her work centers on the connections, paths, family and community present in the Southeastern American experience. Wilburn’s academic research has been presented internationally and exhibited throughout the US.
The Master’s in Teaching Award was awarded to Wilburn by Featherbone Communiversity, as well as the Master’s in Teaching Award and the Ann Austin Johnson Outstanding Faculty Award at Brenau University. She also won Best in Show at the The RoadShow Exhibition held at Arts Illiana Gallery in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Best in Show at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, GA.
Wilburn has co-curated an exhibition of prints created at Rolling Stone Press from the Brenau Permanent Collection at the Sellers Gallery at Brenau University in conjunction with the SGC conference in Atlanta, GA where she also presented a talk on the Rolling Stone Press and the work of Wayne Kline, Master Printer. She also presented art-based research on cemetery figures at the Death, Art &Anatomy Conference, hosted by Winchester University in Winchester, England.
CLOSING RECEPTION AND ZOOM ARTIST TALK WITH FERDINAND ROSA MARCH 23rd
Don’t miss the closing Reception of the Ferdinand Rosa, Excerpts in Paint Exhibition to be held March 23rd form 5:30 -7:00 PM at President’s Gallery on the 2nd floor of the Simmons Visual Arts Center.
Ferdinand Rosa will Zoom Live from his art studio in San Miguel de Allande, Mexico at 6:00 PM, March 23rd.
Closing Reception is from 5:30 – 7 PM.
He will talk about his process, and answer any questions visitors may have about his work.
This event is free and open to the public.
ZOOM Artist Talk with Ferdinand Rosa – March 23rd, 6PM – President’s Gallery
Listen and Watch Ferdinand Rosa talk about his work via zoom from his studio in San Miguel de Allande, Mexico.
When: March 23rd-6PM
Where: Presidents Gallery- 2nd Floor Lobby of the Pearce Theatre, Simmons Visual Arts Center, Brenau University.
Ferdinand Rosa-Excerpts in Paint Solo Exhibition- On View until March 23rd.
Closing Reception-March 23rd, 5:30-7 PM
See and Listen to Judith Surowiec Talk About Her Creative Process
Judith Surowiec talks about her creative process and her inspiration as she prepares for her solo exhibition at Brenau University Feb. 23rd – April 20th.
The artist reception is Thursday night, March 9th from 5:30-7:30 PM.
Listen to Judith talk about her work in person the night of the exhibition at 6PM.
Live music by John Pledger, hors d’oeuvres and beverages served.
Free and Open to the public.
Iceley Self to Perform at Sellars Gallery at the Opening of the Riccarda de Eccher Exhibition
Flutist, Iceley Self will perform at Sellars Gallery during the opening night reception of the Riccarda de Eccher: Montagna Exhibition. She is a freshman at Brenau University and will play a variety of contemporary and traditional pieces.
When :Thursday, Feb16th, 2023-
Where: Sellars Gallery-Simmons Visual Arts Center
Time: Performance will begin at 5:30 PM and last off and on till 8PM.
Free and Open to the Public.
Riccarda de Eccher: Montagna
Riccarda de Eccher: Montagna
Feb 16-March 30th, 2023
Riccarda de Eccher was born in 1954 in Bolzano, and raised in Udine, Italy.
She began painting mainly in watercolors, later in her life, expressing her love of mountains, particularly the northern Italian Alps of her homeland- the Dolomites, and has made them the subject of her work.
A seasoned mountaineer, de Eccher has scaled many of the summits throughout the world, including Mount Everest, which she conquered in the 80’s, a rare feat, especially by an Italian woman.
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- de Eccher rests in her tent as she prepares to hike further up Mt. Everest
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- de Eccher, with heavy gear, looks up as she crosses treacherous terrain and deep crevasses within the snow banks and rock formations while hiking Mt. Everest. A ladder and rope is the only thing separating her from the dangerous cavity below.
During her many hikes, Eccher became fascinated in the small details she encountered, such as flowers, plants, and interesting rock formations. These documented studies, first in pencil, and then in other sketching materials, led to larger investigations in watercolor, which in turn became large scale, realistic representations of the monumental peaks she explored.
de Eccher’s work has been featured at the Casa Cavazzini Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Udine, Italy; Galleria d’Arte Moderna Enrico de Cillia, Treppo Carnico, Italy; Gallery ArtCube, Paris, France; and the Sala delle Esposizioni, Bolzano, Italy, among others.
Now a resident of New York, de Eccher has published several books of short stories about her paintings, and she is the subject of the award winning documentary film, Riccarda de Eccher: Montagna (Mountainfilm 2018).
Tofane, watercolor on paper, 12 x 16 inches
Torri del Sella, watercolor on paper, 40 x 60 inches
View the works of this incredibly resilient and powerful artist here at Brenau University.
Riccarda de Eccher: Montagna
When: On view: Feb 16th – March 30th, 2023
Where: Simmons Visual Art Center, Sellers Gallery
Artist Reception: Feb. 16th, 5:30 – 8 PM.
Artist Talk: Feb. 16th, 6:00 PM
Judith Surowiec to Show at Castelli Gallery
JUDITH SUROWIEC: MOMENTS IN TIME
SOLO EXHIBITION
February 23rd -April 20th, 2023
Artist Reception: March 9th, 5:30-7:30 PM
Artist Talk 6PM
Overlook Parking by Judith Surowiec, acrylic on linen 24 x 30 inches
Prolific and vibrant landscape painter, Judith Surowiec will be exhibiting at the Castelli Gallery located in the Burd Center for the Arts Building at Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga.
February 23rd -April 20th, 2023.
Surowiec‘s paintings are a visual diary. She feels a sense of history and a sense of her time in every stroke; a true reflection of her life.
“Most of my paintings begin on location, states Surowiec, a place where the air is full of light, color and enormous energy. While out there in the elements, I try to take that sense of light and energy, and drape it onto my canvas. Yes, sometimes I work out of the confines of the stretcher frame, and I find that the odd shape of the canvas inspires me to think ‘out of the box’ and avoid the ‘call of reality.’
After a couple of hours in the elements out on location, I take the painting to my studio, where I bring it to another level, scrutinizing every inch, and painting over it if needed.
Once this step has begun, the painting process slows down considerably, and may therefore take me many hours, days, or months to finish. When it is done, I sigh, wishing it would take longer…for I just don’t want it to end.”
Judith Surowiec, The Inn, 36 x 24 inches
Surowiec captures moments of life, painting lively small-town scenes such as a Tennessee farmhouse, a historical Victorian Georgia home, or the people and places that she connects to in some way.
She has been making art with acrylics and colored pencils for over 50 years and has created a body of work using acrylics on flat, folded, or even crumpled canvas.
Surowiec is full of enthusiasm which helps others feel the excitement found in the arts.
She does this by painting demos in schools, talking about her artistic journey, teaching the medium, and always stopping her work for a gentle critique for a fellow artist.
Surowiec graduated from SUNY, Buffalo, NY with a BS degree in art education and also spent 15 years studying with Joseph Perrin, professor emeritus of Georgia State School of Art. He helped her to embrace creativity and be not afraid.
Surowiec is a founder of the Valley Artist Association in Peekskill, NY, and the Dunwoody Arts and Crafts Guild in Dunwoody, Georgia. Her work can be found in several books on colored pencils and acrylic painting.
Judith Surowiec lives and works outside of Atlanta, GA, and has a studio in the Tannery Row Artist Colony in Buford GA.
Visit Judith Surowiec’s website to learn more about Surowiec’s paintings and see her additional works.
Contact: Gena Brodie Robbins, Director, and Curator of Galleries at Brenau University by emailing gallery@brenau.edu or calling 770-534-6181
Ferdinand Rosa: Excerpts in Paint
San Miguel #11 by Ferdinand Rosa – Mixed media on MDF Board, 48 x 48 inches
EXCERPTS IN PAINT by Ferdinand Rosa
Location: President’s Gallery, Simmons Visual Art Center
Dates: Jan.19th – March 23rd, 2023
Closing Reception: March 23rd, 5:30 – 8PM
Brenau University Galleries is proud to present, Excerpts in Paint, an upcoming solo exhibition of dynamic and colorful abstract paintings created by internationally known artist, Ferdinand Rosa.
Using the essence of the landscape as inspiration, Rosa cultivates an abstract aesthetic through the simplification and distortion of representational elements while being surrounded by the energy of the earth’s natural terrain and wildlife. His unique translation of the landscape while visiting places like Costa Rica, or San Miguel’s, Eternal Spring, is captured in multiple layers of paint, revealing bold gestural marks and energetic color fields. Each captivating painting reveals not only a sense and spirit of place, but a poetic implication that is deeply soulful and full of mystery.
Rosa hopes that by sharing his love and dedication to painting, a sacred encounter may ensue between his work and the viewer- deepening ties to life’s metaphysical components, while also awakening the spiritual avenues one can only experience through art.
Don’t miss this captivating exhibition, highlighting the works from Ferdinand Rosa’s, Costa Rican Rhapsody and Tsunami Eulogies Series.
Excerpts in Paint, will be on view from Jan. 16th – March 23rd in the President’s Gallery located upstairs in Brenau University’s Simmons Visual Art Center.
WANT TO DIVE DEEPER INTO ROSA’S WORK??
Discover colorful public art (signs with images and QR codes of Rosa’s work), placed throughout Brenau University’s campus. Scan the accompanying QR code to view a video about the painting printed on the sign.
Contact: Gena Brodie Robbins, Director of Brenau University Galleries for more information.
770-534-6181
