hidell brooks is busy preparing the gallery walls for two solo exhibitions opening september 11th. mountains, gardens & private rooms new collages by north carolina artist arless day transports the viewer into imaginary surroundings filled with beauty in every nook and cranny. arless' collages are intricate puzzles pieced together into one seemless surreal place. he uses tools including cut outs, knives, rubber stamps, books, rolling pens, gouache and screw drivers when creating his work. standing in the gallery surrounded by his collages the feelings brought to surface are one of peace. there is no question why his collectors want to live in arless' realm.
when I did my first collage paintings back in 1988 i never dreamed what an impact it would have on my art and my life. searching through books, magazines and my own photographs give direction to every piece. the process of creating unique landscapes and interiors continue to keep my work fresh and exciting to do. breathing art in and breathing it out, through torn pages and paint has been timeless for me. in some ways, most of my time in this life has gone into all those collaged and painted pieces.
in this recent group of collage paintings, i'm approaching each piece with more paint, to give the surface a fresh looseness. trying to find the right balance of all I've learned over the past twenty -seven years of doing collage and gouache paintings.
this exhibition is filled with mountain landscapes that capture a moment in time. the painterly mountains ,winter's view and deck chairs give a presence to the carolinas, a place i've called home for over twenty-five years. part of this year’s exhibition are gardens throughout the world, which are revealed in palace of granada , spring and japanese lotus. private rooms that look out on elephants in the african plains to a horse relaxing in front of a tudor estate . these interior/exterior landscapes such as african breezes , tudor estate and southern view always take you to a dreamlike setting. interiors such as tiger sanctuary,daylight and editors' place show a distinctive modern space with painterly brushstrokes.
doing art for more than forty years has always been a wonderful journey for me and this body of work represents this continued journey God has blessed me to create.--arless day 2015
mountains, gardens & private rooms new collages by arless day opens friday september 11th from 6-8 pm. arless and susan mcalister who is also opening along side arless will give an artist talk about their work at 7 pm. please call the gallery if you have any questions.