october exhibitions for kirk fanelly, frank phillips and helen robinson are up on the walls. first official solo exhibition for charlotte artist kirk fanelly whose paintings are made from inlaid cut paper on canvas over panel. his tedious collage work is meticulously laid out or shall we say plotted out. kirk’s studio has piles of brightly coloured paper strewn around half cut up and then discarded after exacting the precise size. the inlaid cut paper technique is mind-boggling with the subject matter ranging from botanicals to figurative to purely abstract.
in stark contrast virginia painter frank phillips minimal compositions are a study in color field painting. their graphic nature strikes the perfect balance of form and color. frank’s works are ordered, precise, layered and create a sense of calm that is addicting in nature. this is the largest body of work for frank phillips we have ever exhibited together.
we are just slightly obsessed with helen robinson’s ode to the t-shirt paintings ever since we first laid eyes on them many years ago. figurative work in the non traditional manner due to the cropping of the compositions to not incude the subject’s faces but instead focus on the message on the t-shirt. positive messages to reinforce our faith in humanity with a focus on feminism. it’s cool to be kind, smile, i’m incredible are a few of the t-shirts in helen’s most recent paintings. reassuring sayings with lasting effects on the viewer. playful reminders that life should be filled with love and be enjoyed.
kirk fanelly currently lives and works in his hometown of charlotte. he received a ba in visual art from brown university and split his undergraduate time between brown and neighboring rhode Island school of design—completing courses in their painting and illustration departments. in addition to his undergraduate work, fanelly attended a formative fellowship at yale.
fanelly’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the eastern united states including: davidson college smith gallery, appalachian state turchin center, winthrop university rutledge gallery, artspace (richmond), and the southeastern center for contemporary art (winston-salem). his most recent exhibition was a solo show at the atlanta botanical garden that featured large-scale studies of plants and flowers. fanelly’s work can be found in public and private collections internationally. grants awarded include: north carolina arts council fellowship grant; marie walsh sharpe foundation fellowship; and yale norfolk fellowship.
portrait by deborah triplett
featuring cut paper works that render topics ranging from suburban surrealism to floral still lifes, this exhibition includes key ongoing series in my practice: botanical, animalia, and narrative. also on view, is work from my “arrangements” series, which explores abstraction inspired by paper remnants from previous works.
while the imagery is diverse and these pieces were made from 2015 to today, the tie that binds is a sense of inquiry and a shared medium. in all of these images, i ask the viewer to look again at the everyday moments and environments of our lives, either by juxtaposing unlikely elements—a man mowing the lawn with a nude sunbather, a person having coffee with a parrot on their shoulder, scissors and a finger disrupting what otherwise would be a minimalist still life—or by inviting viewers to join me in a visual deep dive that animates the mundane through color, scale, and the materiality of cut paper.
the groupings in this exhibition intentionally draw connections between diverse subjects, putting them in conversation through color palette and composition. in combination, they also convey inlaid cut paper’s malleability as a medium. the vibrancy of color in each image is accomplished in part by tinting paper with acrylic and/or flashe vinyl to expand the stock papers’ limited palette. the paper pieces are then scalpel cut, inlaid (forming one layer) and adhered using reversible pva glue. an isolation coat is applied before the final protective uv varnish. this process involves archival materials and processes optimizing the longevity of each work.
frank phillips has been creating art for over 20 years. he received his ba with high honors from hobart college in 1997 and received his mfa from the maryland institute college of art in 2005. at hobart, phillips was a decorated member of the men’s varsity soccer team. currently, he is an avid squash player. phillips works at st. anne’s-belfield school, where he teaches painting, drawing and is chair of the arts. at st. anne’s-belfield, he utilizes his athletic experience to coach squash. his passion for competition and physical activity directly influences his artwork. the paintings and drawings are products of his very physical process, and he embraces the work involved. frank, his wife meg, daughter bess, and brood of animals live in the greater charlottesville area.
this most recent work furthers my analysis of formalism, more specifically the organization of layered color-shapes, and the lines that attempt to frame them.
i’m interested in constructing compositions of teetering balance where mapped spaces shift and settle, unraveling the process of decision-making (both errors and corrections). the paintings are a record of time and practice, and how spans, passages, and vistas expand and erode depending on the revisionist tasks. colors are nudged in thick and thin coats; they reveal, commingle, or obscure, leaving only trace artifacts on the surface or lingering notes around edges.
helen robinson is an artist based out of brooklyn, ny. she received her bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history at vanderbilt university in 2013 and continues to build her own body of work at her studio in brooklyn. helen’s work focuses on conceptual portraiture that explores the nature of representation and the limitless potential of the human figure as a subject. she uses non-traditional portraiture to consider modes of representation and self-expression. her paintings are all derived from photographs and studies and are mostly documentary in style. overall, helen's work expresses human connection and social interactions based on our relationship to our surroundings and one another.
my latest paintings are an extension of the ongoing series ode to the t-shirt. i have continued to build a body of work around the idea that clothes, accessories, and more specifically t-shirts represent unspoken forms of communication and serve as tools of self-expression. for centuries fashion has allowed us to express ourselves creatively and help form a sense of identity; but recently the way we dress has become even more personal and direct. in the last few years, there has been a rising trend in graphic t-shirts vocalizing a strong point of view. verbiage has introduced itself into our clothes, allowing us to plaster our opinions across our chests. it has become a small, yet strikingly clear, symbol of the times. now more than ever, people are wearing their hearts on their sleeves, literally. whether that’s a form of protest, opinion, expression of joy, inspiration, humor, fact, or anything else, t-shirts are the perfect blank canvas for visually voicing ideas, bridging the gap between identity and communication.
all available work by each artist can be viewed on our website under their individual tabs including sizing + pricing. hidell brooks gallery is by appointment only. please call the gallery if you have any further questions.