Animals by Derek Hibbs
in the Powder Room Gallery
at River Arts on Water | 590 Water St, Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
Exhibit dates: Thursday, April 25 - July 20, 2024
Making art has always been a release and way of coping mentally for me, and the weight of heavily loaded content in my past work started to take its toll - even though the social subjects are things I am deeply concerned with and passionate about, I have never been much of an activist. Frankly an obsession with news began to scare me and become unhealthy. After years of making socially and politically engaged work I decided it was time to take a step back and make some prints and drawings just for the sake of making. As a nature and animal lover I am constantly inspired by the beauty and energy in the daily world around us. I love my pets dearly and figured that was a place good place to start. I am also an avid bird watcher and admirer. These recent images of animals have fueled my creative desires for the past year or so and have been a much needed break from the negative things that exist in our daily lives.
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Summer Featured Artists
Exhibition Dates: May 2 - August 3, 2024
On view at River Arts on Water Gallery (590 Water St, Prairie du Sac, WI) and online.
River Arts is pleased to present our two featured artists - sculptor Nana Schowalter and 2-D artist Chuck Bauer during May, June and July of 2024.
Please read on for information about the artists...
Nana Schowalter Artist Statement:
Nana Schowalter has a background in fine art, earning an MFA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987, with an emphasis on sculpture. She was first introduced to blacksmithing in 1984. Nana’s work includes interior sculpture, garden sculpture, and commission work. She combines iron, copper, and brass in works inspired by the images of ancient cultures from around the world. She has exhibited and taught nationally. Nana lives in rural southwestern Wisconsin and works in the original Postville Blacksmith Shop, built in 1856.
A passionate gardener specializing in outdoor sculpture since 1990, the artist’s fascination for images of ancient cultures and natural forms is reflected in the Garden Spirit Collection. The pieces range from functional to inspirational works of art. This year’s designs include two new variations of the Garden Spirit House inspired by the spirit houses of Thailand, and several pieces exploring gentle kinetic movement. The collection of sculpture for home or garden is made of forged and fabricated steel. Hot forging techniques of the blacksmith and modern fabricating processes are combined to create the Garden Spirits. They are finished with weather resistant paint suitable for indoor/outdoor placement.
Chuck Bauer Artist Statement:
As a child I was always interested in art, but my real journey began the first day of undergraduate school when I had an auditory hallucination telling me to become an art major.
While earning my BFA in 1969 I spent a year in New York City as part of the first annual Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. I earned my MA at UW, Madison in 1970. But somehow I hadnever pulled a single original fine art print, and when viewing those of others remained an outsider.
All that changed three years ago when I was invited to work with Andy Balkin, a local master printer at AGB Graphics Workshop. We enjoy a collaborative relationship and explore both traditional and experimental techniques.
My vision for my art is to leave something behind that will remain interesting and perhaps even strong enough to be called important, and toward that end I hope my work will always embody an expressive and emotional content.
At the moment I am interested in the emotion that might be called domestic nostalgia. As I approach the end of my eighth decade I hope to continue growing as an artist, technically of course, but also creatively, expressively, and compassionately.
For more information please visit www.riverartsinc.org/art-exhi...
28 июн 2024
