hidell brooks is very excited to open three solo exhibitions on friday for mary rountree moore, kiki slaughter and katy scheidner. all three women are strong painters who approach their canvases through completely different paths. mary rountree moore uses the landscape around her for inspiration especially the coastal regions of north carolina. the colors of the marsh are captured and interpreted through her eyes abstracting the view and emphasizing elements of the landscape with color. her unique perspective and composition relay the feelings of calmness and tranquilly that one experiences when surrounded by nature's splendor unique to the north carolina salt marshes.
derived from nature’s innate abstractions, allowing the mind’s eye to gather it’s own interpretations. it is the memory of those undeniable visual experiences that gives me inspiration. balance in the natural order is strongly apparent in my serene landscapes.
-mary rountree moore
smaller works are painted en plein air
mary rountree moore's studio in chapel hill
for abstract artist kiki slaughter, her method is often her muse. her paintings are best described as an experiment with the fundamental process of painting. she pours, scrapes, layers and otherwise manipulates paint on the canvas to create works that are rich in both color and texture. she is inspired to paint by the very act of painting.
kiki is also inspired by her visual surroundings. thus, her work often evokes the places she has lived and visited. she strives to interpret and record her impressions of the world around her through her use of color and texture. although her works are entirely abstract, each piece maintains subtle characteristics from its source of inspiration. kiki slaughter is from charlottesville, va and currently lives and works in atlanta, ga.
my work is an experiment with the fundamental process of painting. i pour, scrape, layer and otherwise manipulate paint on the canvas to create works that are rich in both color and texture. paint is my method and my muse.
-kiki slaughter
kiki slaughter in her atlanta, ga studio
painted canvas strips in plexiglass
kiki is specifically excited to show her painted canvas strips, a "personal favorite" of her repertoire. kiki has literally been collecting these strips of painted canvas from old works from her studio and finally decided to bring these pieces back to life in a beautiful new way. they mark a history of her paintings and celebrate the trail she has taken to get where she is today. the strips are beautifully framed in plexiglass boxes.
katy schneider teaches painting and drawing at smith college. she paints in her 6 by 8 foot basement in her home using a single spotlight to illuminate her subject. her solo exhibition consist of flower portraits but the real subject is light. katy's light is reminiscent of 19th century painter jean-baptiste-camille corot. her flower portraits are more than a still life for the light creates a mood causing the flowers to relay emotions of a connection to each other through their beauty.
i approach flower painting similarly to portrait painting, which i have done my whole life. each flower portrait takes on a particular character. peonies in particular lend themselves wonderfully to a range of emotions, personalities, and change in character dramatically from hour to hour; balled up, “heady” (literally and metaphorically) in their early stages, open, complex, wild in their later stages. each stage presents its own challenges. light is aways the organizer. i turn out all the lights and use one spotlight, almost like providing sunshine at night. such lighting helps me to understand the structure of the complex forms by simplifying it into shapes of dark and light. it also helps create a particular mood, suggesting “who” this flower is. this past year many of the peony paintings are 2 headed, couples, perhaps even twins- which wouldn’t surprise me considering I have a twin sister. it is always interesting to recognize how one’s relationships to people and to the world plays itself out through the process of painting - even when the subject matter is (or rather -seems to be) still life.
-katy schneider
all new paintings by mary rountree moore, kiki slaughter and katy schneider are under their individual artist's tabs on the artists page. mary and kiki will be at the opening from 6-8 pm friday night with food provided by earl's grocery. please call the gallery if you have any questions or need further information.