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33rd Mid-Summer Anniversary Celebration at the Carlton Gallery Saturday, July 25

Andrew Braitman - Warmth at the Water's Edge - 48 x 60 - Oil on Canvas
Andrew Braitman – Warmth at the Water’s Edge – 48 x 60 – Oil on Canvas

Carlton Gallery celebrates its 33 Anniversary with a Mid-Summer Group Exhibition on Saturday, July 25. This exhibition showcases the work of the standing gallery artists whose paintings, sculpture, glass, wood, clay, jewelry and fiber represent outstanding artistic ability and fine craftsmanship.

An Artists’ Reception is planned from 2 to 5 with music provided by “Gypsy Harvest” – Rob Falvo, Harold McKinney, Cindy Tate and Ted Gulick. This event affords one the opportunity to meet and greet some of the gallery artists in attendance while enjoying delicious food, refreshing beverages along with community spirit.

The 33 Anniversary Celebration also highlights an exhibition “From a Textural Point of View” by Andrew Braitman and Toni Carlton. This insightful painting contrast of abstraction with a lot of paint for texture and movement to mixed media rendered with many layers is aesthetically pleasing and visually accessible in itself.

Prominent artist Andrew Braitman is nationally known with his work featured in galleries and exhibitions throughout the U.S. and abroad. Born in Casper, Wyoming, Braitman earned a BA from the University of Maryland. He has exhibited his paintings at Carlton Gallery for over twenty years and his abstract landscapes with richness of color and depth of palette create a unique space for one’s imagination.

The abstracted landscapes by Braitman exhibited in “From a Textural Point of View” are rendered with conceptual shapes and subtle details that catch one’s eye. As an accomplished artist, he can convey passion and emotion in his work by virtue of talent, imagination and experience. Braitman’s practical knowledge and sensibilities afford the opportunity to merge the technical with the aesthetic to make his paintings powerful or dramatic. His developed skill and ability turns his art work into a conversation or discussion by the intuitive, open mind of the viewer.

“Watauga Headwater”, a 16 x 12 canvas and “Warmth in the Water”, a 48 x 60 canvas are two of Braitman’s paintings on exhibit. His compositional ability to capture the mood and qualities of his subject either on a small or large canvas is quite extraordinary. Braitman says, “I’ve been in this career for 40 years and things have changed greatly along the way. I feel I’ve found a way to create the work that I love without alienating the viewer. The delicate balance to create within the bounds of my interests and the bounds of an ever-changing world is a strange thing, and I hope that I am doing it well.”

Through her passion for working in mixed media combined with her expression of her spiritual journey, artist Toni Carlton’s creative process begins in a consciousness of prayer and song – a focused intention to allow a centered prayer to become an artistic expression through movement on the canvas.

Toni Carlton - Flowing Through the Threads of Our Lives - Spirit of Peace - 48x48
Toni Carlton – Flowing Through the Threads of Our Lives – Spirit of Peace – 48×48

For this exhibit, “From a Textural Point of View” Carlton’s mixed media paintings take a turn toward more abstraction with a strong emphasis on texture, movement, and flowing lines along with delicate designs she wove on 3 different ancestral looms to create a contemporary art form incorporating traditional patterns – Sweet Briar Beauty, Miniature Snowball, and Bronson Lace.

“Flowing Through the Threads of Our Lives – Spirit of Peace” a triptych or three individual pieces 48×48 each begins with calligraphy and painted papers along with geometric forms juxtaposed to the flowing lines of organic shapes with an unseen song in the background that is written in graphite. The woven fabric offers the viewer to “see beyond” what appears to be to what can be experienced and transformed through the sacred voice of the heart as transcending from a world of Chaos to Peace.

Carlton earned a BS in Industrial Arts and Technical Education, as well as Art Marketing and Production from Appalachian State University. Her artworks have juried in the Invitational World Calligraphy Exhibitions held in Seoul, Korea; Beijing, China and Geneva, Switzerland. She was also one of two American women artists whose work was chosen to exhibit in the International Healing Arts Exhibition in Naples, Italy.

Visit and enjoy Carlton Gallery’s 33 Anniversary Celebration with Mid-Summer Group Exhibition on Saturday, July 25, 2 to 5 with music, food, and community spirit. The “From a Textural Point of View” exhibition by Andrew Braitman and Toni Carlton can be viewed through September 15. This exhibition is also a part of the Avery Tour de Art – a coalition of galleries and artists’ studios open on the fourth Saturday from June through November.

The gallery is located 10 miles south of Boone and 7 miles north of Linville on NC 105 south in the Grandfather Mountain community near the entrance to Seven Devils. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 5 and 11 to 5 on Sunday. For additional information on artists, exhibitions or workshops call (828) 963-4288 or visit www.carltongallery.com.