MONROE - The exhibit "Still Life: An Evolving Image" by Madison artist Sally Hutchison opens Friday and runs through March 24 at Wellington and Muranyi Galleries, Monroe Arts Center, 1315 11th St.
An opening reception is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m., with a brief gallery talk at 5:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
When viewers make an up-close examination of these large-scale abstract oil paintings, fine details such as textures, brush strokes and meticulous manipulation of the medium are revealed to create delicate vertical, horizontal and curved ridges, according to a news release.
This exhibition represents Hutchison's exploration of the still life form over a period of 20 years. Although her paintings are geometrically founded, flat and strongly textured, each painting gestures towards a traditional still-life composition.
In the exhibition's earlier paintings, Hutchison used a curvilinear line to create vase or vessel shapes. Like all still life compositions, each shape rests on a horizontal base or surface and the object/shape exists in an otherwise open space.
In the recent paintings, she abstracted the subject/object further, yet it still conforms to the required base and atmosphere. Its principal difference from the earlier work is that it no longer possesses the vase-like structures of an "idealized" realism. Instead, it presents purely invented images constructed fancifully, as in the totem-like pieces. In these respects, the paintings represent the continual reconstruction, recombination and re-imagining of the still life as a vibrant, indispensable part of contemporary art.
From the age of 5, art has been Hutchison's vocation. After encountering and studying the paintings of Piet Mondrian, she developed a distinctive geometric style, which she has taken in novel directions. Interestingly, her grandmother's geometric patterns in the embroidery of tablecloths, items of clothing and drapery also continue to influence her.
Hutchison received both her Bachelor of Science degree in art education and her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also has been a primary contributor to the promotion of visual arts in Wisconsin. Her involvement began with the formation of Art Place/Center Gallery in Madison. This was the first gallery of its kind in the Madison area. She also worked to develop the gallery program at the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, where she served as director and then co-director of the Academy Gallery, which later became the Academy's James Watrous Gallery in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
This exhibit has been made possible by MAC corporate underwriter Colony Brands Inc. and season media underwriters Monroe Publishing LLC and Big Radio, with additional support from Michael and Shelley Muranyi, Paul and Sue Barrett, Pete Guenther and Barb Woodriff and Lee and Chris Knuteson.
An opening reception is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m., with a brief gallery talk at 5:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
When viewers make an up-close examination of these large-scale abstract oil paintings, fine details such as textures, brush strokes and meticulous manipulation of the medium are revealed to create delicate vertical, horizontal and curved ridges, according to a news release.
This exhibition represents Hutchison's exploration of the still life form over a period of 20 years. Although her paintings are geometrically founded, flat and strongly textured, each painting gestures towards a traditional still-life composition.
In the exhibition's earlier paintings, Hutchison used a curvilinear line to create vase or vessel shapes. Like all still life compositions, each shape rests on a horizontal base or surface and the object/shape exists in an otherwise open space.
In the recent paintings, she abstracted the subject/object further, yet it still conforms to the required base and atmosphere. Its principal difference from the earlier work is that it no longer possesses the vase-like structures of an "idealized" realism. Instead, it presents purely invented images constructed fancifully, as in the totem-like pieces. In these respects, the paintings represent the continual reconstruction, recombination and re-imagining of the still life as a vibrant, indispensable part of contemporary art.
From the age of 5, art has been Hutchison's vocation. After encountering and studying the paintings of Piet Mondrian, she developed a distinctive geometric style, which she has taken in novel directions. Interestingly, her grandmother's geometric patterns in the embroidery of tablecloths, items of clothing and drapery also continue to influence her.
Hutchison received both her Bachelor of Science degree in art education and her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also has been a primary contributor to the promotion of visual arts in Wisconsin. Her involvement began with the formation of Art Place/Center Gallery in Madison. This was the first gallery of its kind in the Madison area. She also worked to develop the gallery program at the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, where she served as director and then co-director of the Academy Gallery, which later became the Academy's James Watrous Gallery in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
This exhibit has been made possible by MAC corporate underwriter Colony Brands Inc. and season media underwriters Monroe Publishing LLC and Big Radio, with additional support from Michael and Shelley Muranyi, Paul and Sue Barrett, Pete Guenther and Barb Woodriff and Lee and Chris Knuteson.