Art View by
Paulette Thenhaus
Four for February
Though its the second month of the calendar year, it is the New
Year for downtown Galesburg art exhibits. All four art venues have new shows up
this month. Lets take a peek.
GALESBURG CIVIC ART CENTER
The Art Center at 114 Main Street hosts a Knoxville sculptor,
Ric Larson, and painter T J Thompson, a newcomer to town.
RIC LARSON uses welded steel as a "wiry" line in his
sculptures of ballerinas and angels. They are more akin to Giacometti’s linear
forms than to Degas' full-figured ballerinas. His poses capture the tension in
the thin bodies before they perform. The gestures of the small elongated
figures are enhanced when they are placed in pairs. Then the open spaces
between and around them form interesting shapes of their own.
In an angels series, an intricate, web-like pattern of metal
becomes a kneeling angel’s protective wings. Larson makes the heavy welded
metal look as light and airy as lace.
T J THOMPSON is a painter of Western Art and wildlife. Indeed,
he proudly hails from Colorado. There are plenty of paintings with horses. His
nature portraits often include people and shafts of mysterious light (“A Star
is Born”). But it is in his paintings of Galesburg's historic places, Seminary
Street and the Central Congregational Church, that he breaks with conventional
realist painting and becomes more romantic.
"Evening Highlights" is a nostalgic street drama,
obviously set on Seminary Street in downtown Galesburg. It is a portrait of
what the street might have looked like a century ago. There are horse drawn
carriages, flower stalls and streetlights … and the clock. All under
contemporary awnings. They are represented in the “mist” of time. He did not
research old photos but rather used his own camera and imagination to construct
the colorful scene.
"A Place of Community" has the familiar Central
Congregational Church tower rising out of another mist. Are the paintings
engaging? Yes. Are they somewhat sentimental? Yes. Yet Thompson's illustrative
brand of realism does have its own magic.
Q'S CAFE
On the walls at 319 East Main Street are traditional watercolor
subjects: trees, barns, florals. RON HUNT taught adult water color classes at
Carl Sandburg Community College, while MARILYN VAN NORMAN paints whatever
attracts her attention. Both use paint sparingly in these uncomplicated,
relatively small works. The show is up through March.
CHEZ WILLY'S
MARY PHILLIPS is showing both watercolors and acrylic paintings
at 41 South Seminary Street. Her artwork is a breathe of fresh air. In fact, a
series of four 8" x 10" canvases go by the title of “Fresh Air.”
Patches of blue float in delicate earth hues. Phillips’ brushstrokes are lively
and open In her abstract work.
Another series of small acrylic works, "Treasures,"
is precious not only in size, but also in the gold leaf loosely incorporated
within them. In larger works on paper, such as "Nature Claims
Itself," Phillips demonstrates her ability to orchestrate both geometric
(rectangles) and organic jagged) shapes into a dynamic composition based on the
push and pull of color and shape.
Representational watercolors are in an adjacent room.
KALDI'S COFFEEHOUSE & TEAROOM
TYLER HENNINGS sure knows how to paint, yet he keeps things
deceptively simple. His subjects are common objects: beer cans, pencils,
marbles. An example is a series of glass marble paintings. At first glance it
seems to be a paintings of a marble collection. What the oils portray is just
one marble, its color, subtle reflections and shadows as seen from different
angles. His artistic perception is sharp. His brushwork gives individuality and
life to each object. This is especially true in his insightful animal
portraits. Look closely at the cat's face and you will see how fluidly Hennings
changes the weight of his paint from whisker thin to furry impasto. Just look
at the expression! There is an animation in his network of brushstrokes and
vivid color, whether he is painting objects or beings. His exhibit opens
February 13th.
02/12/09