Le Quire Gallery Visit

On June 21st, the Le Quire Gallery on Charlotte Ave. in Nashville opened a new show:

"The Stable - Select Paintings and Sculptures From Each of Our Distinguished Artists"

Probably the most impressive sculpture is the 48 square foot American flag created by artist Ben Caldwell. One of the gallery workers on the opening night was telling me that while artists usually use a kiln when working with enameled copper, Ben Caldwell created this enormous sculpture with the help of a hand-made blow-torch. (So. much. win.)

I had a lot of favorite sculptures. My two favorites were (1) Reclining Figure by Scott Wise, made of limestone, and (2) I guess this is unnamed? Created by Somers Randolph, made of Italian white alabaster.

For the first, I like the use of negative space (or would we call it here implied space?); three separate pieces of limestone come together to create the visual illusion of a single object.



The spiraling alabaster, on the other hand, is notable for having so much shape and so many interesting curves, but created from a single piece of stone.



My favorite painting was Evening Sky in Ovando by Ashley Wiltshire. The painting medium is oil on panel. (Only $3,800, if you are so inclined!) I love the colors - the blues and the clouds remind me of a calm and quiet evening. I like how the right third of the canvas is anchored with a dark tree, which works together with the dark ground (and much smaller-sized trees) to give a feeling of depth. A lighter tree (which is hard to see in this picture) seems to be very close to the viewer, creating another layer of depth. The horizontal lines of light between the clouds - as can be seen on moonlit nights - are just wavy enough to keep one's eye moving around the painting before settling on the area where the moon is surely hiding behind the clouds in the almost center.

Assignment questions:

1. Does it change your perspective to discuss a work of art with the artist himself? N/A as I wasn't able to visit when the class did.

2. How do the Greg Decker paintings make you feel? Greg Decker's paintings have a dreamy feel to them - the soft brush strokes remind me of Impressionistic works, especially the lack of strong lines. Harp and Kitten, in particular, is especially beautiful.

3. How does the way in which the exhibit is installed effect the way you experience it? Well, I was a little afraid I was going to step on some of the sculptures that were installed on the floor. I liked how the sculptures and paintings were all together in the same rooms - I think the combination of 2D and 3D art makes the viewer slow down and really take everything in.

4. Discuss one work of sculpture and one painting from LeQuire. Try to start with an objective description, then describe you personal response to the work. See above.