- April 23, 2024
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The idea behind the new show at Salvo Art Project in Bunnell, is to bring new faces and new ideas to the area. The show showcases the work of seven abstract expressionist artists: Toni Slick, Gretchen Nass, Betty Parker, Jean Banas, Melissa Mason, Martha Mahoney and Beau Wild. It was curated by guest curator Diana Gilson, who says that the exhibit is a challenge to the community.
“These are spontaneous compositions of the unconscious,” Gilson said. “It’s not so much about creating something you can identify with immediately, like a bowl of fruit; they’re trying to express something that is personal to them — using energy and movement, shapes, brush strokes, color, line and composition to create a whole new visual. Instead of saying, ‘That’s a nice bowl of fruit,’ you look and say, ‘What is it?’ and you start to enjoy it more.”
Gilson said that understanding abstract work is more like understanding instrumental music, which allows the listener relate to the piece on their own terms.
Some of the painters are inspired by their surroundings, like Slick, who uses images of graffiti and aged walls as the base of her piece. The walls represent history, time, decay and what was once new transforming with time.
“She tries to deal with the walls, but you won’t see a wall when you look at her painting because that’s just the starting point,” Gilson said.
On the other hand, Parker and Nass draw from their inner-selves, their pieces evoking dream-like and Zen quality.
Gilson said that all the artists she chose for the show have inspired her over the years.
“I’ve been inspired by them in so many ways; by their art, by their energy, by their vision,” she said. “Working in a world where 80% is realism, especially in Florida, and these people had the courage to go beyond that and say, ‘We don’t want to paint what everyone else is painting; we want to paint what’s in our heads and in our hearts.’”
The show opens 6-9 p.m. April 18, at Salvo Art Project, 313 Old Brick Road, Bunnell.
