blog
-
May 31, 2010
Summer 2010
THE GALLERY IS OPEN FOR THE 2010 SEASON. The first exhibit will be "New Work" by Ashley Bullard and "Life Calendar Project", an installation by CC White. The press release follows:
PRESS RELEASE: TWO SANDWICH ARTISTS OPEN THE SEASON AT PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY
CENTER SANDWICH: Two Talents from Center Sandwich, Ashley Bullard, “New Work” and CC White, “Life Calendar Project will open the summer season at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Join us at reception to meet the artists on Saturday, June 12th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
White’s “Life Calendar Project” is an installation of daily calendars that she has been making since 1996. The calendars began as a way to keep track of daily events, weather, and temperature. The project has grown into a work of art to be seen for the first time hanging as one. Like the time these calendars mark, this engaging installation takes time to view.
White describes her calendar project:
“At first, I drew stick figures, or used cards and photos; now I make my own images specifically for each month, sometimes painting directly on the page, other times making a collage or cropping something from an earlier work. Occasionally David shows intedrest in adding his own touch, and I love having his images included.
Eventually, what began as an informal way to keep track of events has become an integral part of our daily lives. The first thing one of us does in the morning is to check the temperature and write it on the calendar for that day. At the end of the day, we record the day’s “events”, so that the lower half of the calendar is every bit as important as the images: we focus especially on our interaction and intimacy with Nature, (for example, the notations are about such things as seeing a mother bear and her cub in our clearing on April 24 of this year, what day the shad first bloomed, when the black flies arrive, what day we harvest our garlic, and when the V’s of geese fly over on their way South in the fall). The act of recording honors the importance of these small daily occurrences that make up such a large part of our lives.
Some of the art on these pages seems embarrassingly awful to me. However it ALL reflects exactly where I was, physically, emotionally and spiritually while I was painting it, (quite literally in the case of December 2006, when my right arm was broken and in a cast….). So for this installation I’ve included everything, “warts and all”. This calendar is NOT about perfection, but about process and progress, about continuity and daily practice. It is about conscious living and observation, awareness and choice. It is my own personal form of pure record keeping, a journal in which I combine words and images to evoke memory.”
White has also produced a yearless calendar to record birthdays and dates to remember that don’t change. The calendar includes some of her best images. It will be on sale at the gallery.
For those who follow Ashley Bullards work her new exhibit will not disappoint. The work is fresh and colorful, resourceful and innovative. Painting on mylar, Bullard has returned to landscapses. She calls this series “deconstructed landscapes” meaning that the viewer knows what he or she is looking at but the focus of the work is on color and shape.
Bullard’s work has almost come full circle. Her first exhibit at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery was a very successful landscape show. As time went on Bullard’s work continued to emphasize color and energy but her subject matter became emotional as she endeavored to deal with the news and events recent years. The work was strong and compelling.
The new paintings are not emotional as they lack the intensity of subject. They are expressive of seasonsonal color and the changing climate that New England offers. A passionate colorist, Bullard is at her best. Fat layers of paint adhere to the mylar. The effect seems to be an invitation to touch.
Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street (Rte.113 N) in Center Sandwich. Gallery hours are from 10 to 5 Monday – Saturday and from 12 to 5 on Sunday. For more information please visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.