born and raised in the hunt country of virginia, susan mcalister received her ba from davidson college and has been painting for over 30 years. she has studied alongside numerous acclaimed and professional artists including herb jackson and eric aho. her paintings speak to a love of the land and a concern for the spirit of place. susan has a keen ability to translate sensations into painting. her lush, often abstracted landscapes are evocative and powerful explorations of her quest for places and things that nurture and inspire. she applies multiple layers of paint, wax, marble dust and graphite combined to simultaneously construct and deconstruct. mcalister lives in charlotte, nc.
“my work is rooted in a love of land. it speaks to the hallowed nature of place and the importance of land ethic. the patterns and rhythms of nature continually inspire. color variations of a grass field, shadows on a forest floor, shifting light and atmosphere. increasingly, i seek to combine these visual narratives with the histories of place. how can we hold the stories of these lands to bring about curiosity, or discomfort or convey new ideas? past, present and future collide. imagined combines with real, abstraction with representation. in the tradition of en plein air, my process begins out on the land. there i sketch, paint, template and collect artifacts which inform my studio practice. materials are central to these discussions. my work combines layers of paint, ink, graphite, and other materials to simultaneously construct and deconstruct. a recent exploration of more dimensional assemblages has allowed me to introduce new materials such as found objects and cyanotypes. these pieces have expanded my ability to highlight the stories of specific geographic and historical sites. as a process painter and artist, i have an affinity for mark making and the freedom of the abstract expressionists. each work resolves at varying levels of abstraction, with the goal of luring the viewer into a personal sense of place and time.”
christopher terry was born in stamford, connecticut in 1956. he attended rhode island college in providence, ri where he earned a ba in studio art in 1978. he continued his education at the university of wisconsin-madison, where he earned his master of fine arts degree in 1981. after moving back to connecticut, he began exhibiting his paintings in and around the new york area in 1982. accepting a teaching position at california state university, long beach in 1984 brought him to the west coast where he exhibited his work at galleries in both los angeles and san francisco. in 1988 he accepted a position at utah state university and began teaching painting and drawing there. professor terry is the recipient of numerous awards as a painter including the utah visual artist fellowship, and a WESTAF/NEA fellowship in painting. he has twice been the recipient of a fulbright fellowship for teaching and research in germany and in 2000 was a visiting artist at the american academy in rome. recently retired from utah state university, terry now lives in rhode island, where he has a studio on north road in jamestown.
“the central theme of my work is the ability of light to transform. although i select and place my subjects carefully, they are mostly drawn from the insignificant artifacts of everyday life. they lack a strong ego and without the stage i build for them, they would likely be overlooked. the interiors i choose are similarly anonymous. i’m drawn to these spaces and objects that lack a strong individual presence, and i rely primarily on light to transform an abandoned interior and enigmatically placed object into a secular altar.”
