Three Realities: Drawing, Sculpture, Painting

Exhibition Dates: November 5 – 29, 2014
Reception: Sunday, November 9, 2 - 4 pm
Open for Gallery Hop Friday, November 7, 7 - 10 pm

Artworks Gallery presents a three-person exhibit of ceramics by Mary Beth Blackwell-Chapman, paintings by Wendell Myers and charcoal drawings by Ben Perini.

Mary Beth Blackwell-Chapman’s ceramic sculpture exhibition is a return to her long fascination with the human form, focusing on the head. She describes this work as “Fanciful Human Expressions”. These colorful busts have realistic, expressive faces with fanciful, or surprising hair/hat tops. There is no specific theme for the show; just enjoyment of the exploration of the human head with some magic mixed in.

Blackwell-Chapman is a sculptural artist from Forsyth County, North Carolina. She earned a BA in English Literature from Goucher College, and an MA in Motion Picture from Northwestern University in Chicago. She has studied sculpture, ceramics and book arts, at Penland, UNC-G, Arrowmont, Shakerag, the Calligraphy Centre, and the Sawtooth Center for Visual Design. Her works are in collections in Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, DC, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and France. She has exhibited annually since 1993 in juried and non-juried shows in North Carolina, and has been a member of the artists’ collective, Artworks Gallery in Winston-Salem, NC since 1992.

Wendell Myers’ paintings are abstract landscapes. Within the language of landscape, he uses motion, light, color and energy to evoke an emotional state, to create a sense of mystery. He is very interested in improvisation, paints spontaneously, letting the painting take him where it will go. He begins by applying color to the canvas, studies what happens and then responds with more color or texture. Watch, react, paint some more, respond. His work is a lot like jazz; listening, reacting and playing simultaneously. Myers’ goal is not to totally control what emerges, but to influence it; to allow, to a degree, the paint to do what it will. Often, in music or art, it is the unexpected result which is the most expressive and most enjoyable.

Myers went to art school in Milwaukee in the '70s, earning a BFA from the Peck School of the Arts. He went to medical school in Winston-Salem in the '80s, and completed specialty training in Diagnostic Radiology in the '90s. He has practiced medicine in the area for 20 years, but returned to his artistic roots several years ago, painting abstract landscapes in acrylics. He continues to practice medicine as a faculty member at Wake Forest School of Medicine, where he specializes in breast imaging, and is one of the newest members of Artworks Gallery.

Ben Perini, born in Brooklyn, New York, grew up among the great museums of New York City - which he visited often from an early age. His first educational art experience was at age eight, attending the Saturday art classes at the Brooklyn Museum. Over the years he has studied many inspirational artists and he has created art ever since, as a professional illustrator and a fine artist.

Drawing has been fundamental to Perini and his work as an artist, it’s place was primarily in preparation for paintings until now. The recent charcoal drawings are a natural step forward for his expressions and explorations as drawing is the Art. These works are the celebration of the simplicity of black charcoal, and the beauty of the charcoal markings as they are layered, blended, rubbed, brushed, erased, and further manipulated by the imagination to portray expressions and thoughts.

This current work - a collection titled Random Thoughts and the Fictional Portrait - consist of thoughtful imagery with the portrait as a central object or theme. Ideas incorporated are reflections or musings of abstract thoughts on the human story, with inspiration from a collaboration with visual artists or imagery from the past, present, and maybe the future. These drawings become a form of visual poetry, presented in an intriguing manner with a sense of beauty and excitement for the viewers.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Click on image for a larger view:
Wendell Myers, "Nocturne #16 in E Flat Major", acrylic on canvas, 30" x 40"
Mary Beth Blackwell Chapman, "Flying Red Hair", acrylic on ceramic, 14"H x 12"W
Ben Perini, “Sufficient Reason”, Charcoal on Paper, 45” x 60”

© 2014 Artworks Gallery, Inc. All rights to images in this site remain with the respective artists. Images may not be displayed, printed, published or reproduced without permission of the artist.        Webmaster        Public Relations: Alix Hitchcock