Artist Mary Spencer talks about Magritte

This is the second in a series of occasional blog posts, where we've asked a member artist to talk briefly about an artist who's profoundly influenced their work. 

Magritte has entranced me for much of my life. I first saw his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, when I attended the Art Students League during a summer college break.

Rene Magritte, Le Double Secret,  1927; Musee National d’art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.

, 

This painting, Le Double Secret, seen much later at the Pompidou Museum in Paris is an example of what I love. There are two female images, a wooden ‘balcony’ edge and the sea/sky behind them. The primary female face has split open to reveal a vocal chord of bells, the shifted cover face is to the left. Somehow secret music has cracked open a twin, a double. It is a very mysterious, haunting, edge oriented painting of inner space and facades.

Since I have a twin, this resonates! We have a secret: we present it differently. We are both very introspective lovers of the sea and sky. Life’s horizon always shifts to produce far off sounds.                 

-Mary Spencer

and now, a bit about Mary....

Mary Spencer, Kimberley Woman,
mixed media on panel.

Mary Spencer's recent series of paintings combine mixed media with oils on panel, bringing together fragments from cave drawing, news photos, architectural views, landscapes, folding the elements over themselves and one another to achieve intriguing and enigmatic visions, a unified world of disparate parts. Prehistoric cave drawings traced in dark winding lines untainted by steel edge or digital concept blend into stone mountains or fragments left by wind, water, fire. Her paintings refernece Bernard Rudofsky’s The Prodigious Builders. All life is a building contest that  can astonish and remain. MORE info...

Rewind....

or, time travel, Gallery Style......

The good news is that in the last 6 months, Fountain Street Fine art has been delightfully busy, hosting several exhibitions and a myriad of associated openings, gallery talks and events. The bad news is that this blog's not kept pace, not even a little!

So in the interest of historical accuracy, here's a quick recap of the past few months' exhibits and events, with links to more, to satisfy your curiosity.

Currently on view, through January 27, 2013

Second Anniversary: COTTON

(Can you believe it, our baby is turning two?)

Pictured: On the Line, installation by Catherine Weber.

Curated by Joanne Mattera, this open juried show features the work of 25 artists from 6 states, and mediums as diverse as acrylic, oil, fiber, photography, steel and wax. Their works -- 33 in all -- align with five conceptual threads: textile as image and object, structures, narratives, vessels and landscape. See more images from the show and read Mattera's insightful statement here.

Nov 15- Dec 16, 2012

A Sense of Place :Core and Associate artist exhibit.

L-R: Work by Kellie Weeks, Sara Fine-Wilson, and Roy Perkinson

Thirteen Core and Associate artist members explored ways that the concept of place impacts their work in this group show. 

Work by Pamela DeJong, Lisa Thompson, Karen Jacobs, Michelle Lougee, and Kathleen Bryce.

All member artists were invited to take part in a Small Works Showcase, timed to coincide with Fountain Street's WInter Open Studios event. Each item was less than 16 in. in any dimension, and under $500 in price. Jewelry, ceramics and other small items appropriate for Holiday giving were also available. More images

November 18, 2013

Community Supported ART HARVEST PARTY 

Clockwise from Left: CSA pieces by Virginia Fitzgerald, Jeanne Williamson, Lisa Barthelson,  Marie Craig, Cheryl Clinton, and Kay Hartung.

CSArt, a new adventure in art collecting, modeled after the popular concept of communitysupported agriculture, was embarked upon by the Gallery.

The six artists (Lisa Barthelson, Cheryl Clinton, Marie Craig, VIrginia Fitzgerald, Kay Hartung and Jeanne Williamson)  who each created new body of work especially for this project, delivered their pieces and celebrated with shareholders at an Art Harvest Party in November. Artists, who loved the opportunity to experiment with new media and approaches, and collectors, who were thrilled with their six original works of art, were delighted by the experience.

October 11 - November 4, 2012

The Balance Between: 

Recent paintings by James Wilson Rayen & Cheryl Clinton

Nature and landscape, with water in one form or another translated in paint, link the work of both painters featured in this exhibit. Rayen describes the challenge of making a painting as “finding the balance between observation, memory and invention -each plays an essential role.” More info/images