Carlton Gallery hosts its 33rd Autumn Group Exhibition on Saturday, Sept. 26. An Opening Reception is planned from 2-5 p.m. with some of the gallery’s artists in attendance to meet and greet patrons and visitors. Autumn color is spectacular in the High Country along with the beautiful paintings illustrating the changing of the season on the gallery walls.
This 33rd Autumn Exhibition is extra special as it celebrates the art work and birthday of Warren Dennis, the gallery’s longest standing artist. His exhibition “Celebrating a Lifetime of Art” presents his new cubist style along with a several of his signature elongated figurative works. We are so excited to have this exhibition for Warren Dennis and glad to have him visit, since he no longer lives in the Boone area.
The paintings of Dennis are rendered with an expression of a moment in time or a suggestion of an unspoken feeling or emotion. After a lifetime of painting “ordinary people doing ordinary things” in his elongated style, Dennis in true artist fashion decided to try something new. His cubist paintings are based on the work of Picasso who over 100 years ago created the technique, but unlike Picasso, the paintings of Dennis are more personable and identifiable.
Dennis’ paintings of his musicians’ series – Bass Player, Drummer and Band Master, along with the Bicyclist, Man on Scooter, Man Feeding the Pigeons and a Lady Juggling are vibrant and cheerful art which entertain the viewer. Dennis’ cubist paintings are rendered with sharp lines and strong contrast outlining the geometric shapes. His sense of life and vitality is an important element in his work which he transposes vividly to canvas.
About his cubist style work, Dennis says, “These came to me in a dream and developed rapidly into drawing studies that evolved into my paintings. My entire body of work is a meditation on the American Spirit which I have seen in its humor, complexity, struggles and above all, in is unquenchable determination to triumph over adversity. All my work is personal and it all has personality – That’s what I try to get across”.
Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi Dennis earned a Bachelor of Art from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Mississippi. He served as art professor at Appalachian State University from 1965-1993 and was Chair of the Art Department from 1980-1984. A noted artist of long standing, Dennis has exhibited in solo and group shows and his award winning art is in many corporate and private collections throughout the U.S. and Canada. Dennis still enjoys painting full time in his studio.
The 33rd Autumn Exhibition also showcases new work by artists, Kevin Beck, Amy Sullivan, Andrew Braitman, Sharon Rusch Shaver, Connie Winters, Jane Desonier, Charles Lawson, Linda Apriletti, Mary Martha McKinley, Freeman Beard, Holly Glasscock, Egi Antonaccio and Toni Carlton. Their work covers many styles, subjects and techniques.
Tonya Bottomley, a new artist to the gallery, exhibits contemporary acrylic paintings exemplifying her vivid imagination. This exhibition also features the work of the local, regional and national artists the gallery represents working in glass, wood, clay, sculpture, wearable fiber and fine jewelry.
All are welcome to the 33rd Autumn Group Exhibition on Saturday September 26, 2 to 5 p.m. to meet and greet gallery artists which enjoying light hors d’oeuvres. Warren Dennis’s “Celebrating a Lifetime of Art” exhibition can be viewed along with a visit with him to discuss his long career as a professional artist. This exhibition which runs through Nov. 15 is also a part of the Avery Tour de Art which occurs on the fourth Saturday of each month- June through November.
The gallery is located at 10360 Hwy 105 South in the Grandfather Mountain community and is opened from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For information of artists, exhibition and workshops, call 828-963-4288 or www.carltongallery.com.
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