Thursday, June 7, 2018

At The Gallery in June: Andrea K. Lawson - Rite of Spring Series

Through June, The Island Gallery will feature the vibrant floral still life work of Port Hadlock artist Andrea K. Lawson.  This, her Rite Of Spring Series, was inspired by a performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring Ballet, choreographed by Glen Tetley.  The exhibit is an offshoot of Andrea's recent popular The Island Gallery at Sotheby's Special Exhibition: Spring Portraits, presented in May of this year. 

Clicking on the images below will take you to visit more of Andrea's work on her Artist Pages, and her biography. 


The Rite Of Spring Series exhibit coincides with the yearly spring blossoming of
gardens here in the Pacific Northwest, and specifically honors our island's local
event, Bainbridge in Bloom, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.  Andrea's
vivacious floral paintings will be on display, performing greeting duty, in the
Gallery's Front Room.
 

Andrea K Lawson:  Surprise Summer Bouquet.  Oil on canvas
To local gardeners, Bainbridge in Bloom is a very special yearly event, showcasing
as it does the incredible level of artistry that members of the island community
bring to the craft of gardening and landscape design.  It takes visitors from
around the region and across the country behind the hedges and fences of six
stunning island gardens, to celebrate the joyful abundance of summer in the
Pacific Northwest.and the unique beauty of Bainbridge Island. 
The Bloom, as it is affectionately known hereabouts, is presented by
Arts & Humanities Bainbridge (AHB). 

Andrea K Lawson:  Summer Bouquet. Oil on canvas

It can safely be said that this artist lives and breathes color.  Her vibrant work,
inspired by nature, expressionism and dance, is on full display in this series of floral
still life oil on canvas paintings.  Her bold strokes, playful rendering of form, and rich,
melting light adds to all that color and creates vivacious movement that captures and
simply pulls the viewer into the pieces.

Andrea was born in Hollywood, California and received her BA from the University
of California Santa Cruz and her MFA from Parsons The New School of Design,
New York City. Her prize winning paintings, drawings and prints have been
exhibited across the United States and Europe. A select list of Andrea’s solo and
juried exhibits include: The Painting Center, New York, The Cape Museum
of Fine Art, Massachussetts, Gallery K, Los Angeles, Ronnebaekshholm Arts &
Culture Centre, Denmark, and Ecole Nationale Superieur des Beaux Arts, Paris,
France. In Seattle and the Northwest: Washington State Convention Center, The
Corridor Gallery, Port Angeles Fine Art Center, Max Grover Gallery, Artisans
On Taylor and Northwind Arts Center.
Andrea speaks of her work:
Using expressive color and freely roving gestural line, I explore wild spaces as
well as dense human spaces. I am intrigued by the interaction between the two, such
as electric lights twinkling in a wild nightscape. Painting outdoors overlooking
the Puget Sound, I paint abstract landscapes with color that is not a copy but is a
direct response to my emotion and experience of the changing light on sky and
water as the sun moves along its path. Using sketches from dances, and photographs
that I take at political marches and parades, I paint the wild magic of community.
I create paintings about how human figures can be entangled in nature, struggling
to be part of or separate from their/our surrounding environment.

Andrea K Lawson:  Sweet Bouquet with Green Table. Oil on canvas

Of Andrea's work, Nancy L. Carcione (Curatorial Department of Costume and
Textiles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art - LACMA) writes:  "Andrea’s
paintings evoke a spirit of freedom, movement, and expressiveness while
remaining fresh, energetic, and luminous. Andrea layers the oil paints in ... 
broad gestures, one color over another. The compositions are balanced
by areas in which the eye is allowed to rest, and through this device Andrea
is able to achieve subtle environmental nuances with a minimum of strokes."

From New York Artist/Instructor Carla Aurich:   “The expressive building and
scraping of paint becomes a witness to time and explores weather patterns
and atmospheric conditions of a single moment… a portal to an enchanted
environment...we are summoned through the portal into a lush landscape to
engage with the wonders of the natural world.” 

Andrea K Lawson:  Dahlias. Oil on canvas

The Rite of Spring Series exhibit runs through June 30, 2018.

Andrea's work and biography can be seen on her Artist Pages, by clicking here.

No comments: