intro
group exhibition introducing beth edwards, marjorie hellman, edward minoff, carol o’malia, robyn rich, glen taylor, al torres and joshua yurges
mid summer is here and we are ecstatic the intro group exhibition is finally up in all it’s glory. we have worked for two years curating and organizing the show. lots of hours researching, visiting studios, planning and falling in love with this group of painters + sculptures. the intro exhibitions are an excellent way to introduce our collectors to artists who have caught our eye. a wonderful mix of artists whose work has a diverse range of styles and mediums. from north carolina to australia the artists are from all over. we hope you find as much joy and intrigue as we have getting to know their work.
beth edwards
beth edwards was born in alabama and lives and works in memphis. she received a bfa from the tyler school of art in philadelphia and an mfa from indiana university. edwards has had an active 30-year career painting, exhibiting, and teaching. she taught painting at the university of memphis for 21 years and is the recipient of many awards, grants, commissions, and residencies. recent awards and honors include the distinguished research award from the university of memphis; arts accelerator grant, artsmemphis; alumni association distinguished achievement in the creative arts award, university of memphis; emmett o’ryan award for artistic inspiration from artsmemphis and willow park mural, urbanart commission for the city of memphis. most recently she was awarded a tennessee arts commission individual artist fellowship.
she has participated in solo and group exhibitions in galleries, museums, institutions and organizations across the united states, including the huntsville museum of art in huntsville, al; the dixon gallery and gardens in memphis; the contemporary art workshop in chicago, il; springfield museum of art in springfield, oh; arkansas museum of fine arts in little rock, ar; delta state university in cleveland, ms; and the san francisco international fine arts exposition.
“my paintings are comprised of small sections of the natural world represented at an enlarged scale. they are usually complex images and are slow to create. each piece records a steady, meditative painting process – hopefully imbuing the traditional subject matter of flowers with what art historian norman bryson termed a “meticulous particularity.” i seek to make something that is commonplace – a flower blossom or clover patch – resonate and endure. due to the life cycle embedded in the representation of flowers, these are vanitas images symbolizing the fleetingness of life. but with an emphasis on the beauty of nature, they are also meant to communicate joy. i hope this work provides a connection to, and awareness of, the natural world’s vitality and vulnerability. ”
Majorie hellman
rhode island based artist majorie hellman was raised between philadelphia and new york. she studied art at the rhode island school of design, (european honors program, bfa painting, 1971), cranbrook academy of art, (graduate painting program), and completed an mfa at syracuse university, where she remained in upstate new york for over 25 years, teaching studio art at the munson williams proctor arts institute. after spending decades exploring technical challenges, different physical approaches and issues of content and narrative hellman came back to embrace what initially drew her to painting: the illusion of three dimensional space created by composition and color. hellman’s work has been widely exhibited throughout the northeast.
“my current work is concerned with testing the dichotomous relationship between the painting as flat object and its depiction of the interaction of dimensional forms. to accomplish this, I rely only on the simplicity of line, and the complexity of color usage.
through my drawing process, observations from both the natural and manmade worlds combine to make reconstructions that exist somewhere in the metaphysical realm. ideas from other sources, such as literature or scientific discovery sometimes enter in, adding an undercurrent of meaning. eventually, i arrive at a composition of intersecting lines, the reading of which is totally ambiguous at this point, as a diagram of an escher might read. having spent decades investigating various painting materials, different physical approaches and issues of content and narrative, i have returned to what initially drew me to the practice of painting: the illusion of three dimensional form and space created by composition and color.
it is this fascination that drives my approach to painting. i delight in the surprise that comes with each painting’s progress, as i do not predetermine anything beyond mixing a few start-up colors. every fragmented shape is a color mixture derived from the starting palette. in my intention to feature color rather than paint action or texture, i create a smooth flat surface on a hard substrate by applying multiple coats of acrylic colors, achieving an opaque, yet luminous skin. my aim is to make the hand disappear, to challenge the viewer to think about how the painting was made, and to appreciate the process, without clues such as obvious brush work. so much work, creative and other, involves labor of mind and/or body that we don’t necessarily see in the finished product. characteristic of my paintings, and key to my vision, is the attention i pay to managing contrasts in hue, tonality and value in creating the illusion that shapes and forms appear transparent or translucent, conveying an interface between structure, depth, space and light. in 2019, i began using irregularly shaped perimeters, altering the compositional field, and emphasizing form within form, and the painting as object.”
Edward minoff
edward minoff graduated with honors from nyu's tisch school of the arts. throughout his high school and college years he studied painting and sculpture at the art students league of new york, the national academy school of design, and later at vassar college. he has also copied works at the louvre, prado and the metropolitan museum of art, where he subsequently taught a class in copying master works. currently he is an instructor at the grand central atelier and columbia university and the co-host and co-creater of suggested donation podcast. prior to becoming a full time artist minoff co-founded the animation house AMPnyc, for which he produced award winning commercials, promos and pilots for mtv, disney, the cartoon network and espy. minoff has since mounted ten solo shows in new york city and san francisco. his portraits, landscapes and still life paintings have been published in numerous magazines and books and are featured in collections including the bodleian library at oxford university, the united states embassy in santa domingo, dominican republic, and the new britain museum of art.
carol o’malia
carol o’malia’s paintings depict ordinary objects and places we have seen and experienced. the subject matter is intentionally serene. these familiar objects and places summon ephemeral moments and feelings that are often forgotten in the rush of our everyday lives. her work focuses on the beauty of light, shadow and volume of forms. the emphasis on shadows creates intricate abstractions on top of highly realistic paintings. o'malia's pillow series introduces drama to something ordinary. the dark lighting emphasizes the folds and volume of the pillows and sheets. her paintings have caught the attention of both private and corporate collectors as well as museums including the duxbury museum, fitchburg art museum, and the american textiles history museum. she earned a bfa from the rhode island school of design and a mfa from the university of massachusetts at dartmouth. when not in her studio, she can often be found wandering in and around the woods and lakes of new hampshire and maine.
glen Taylor
formerly a carpenter, glen taylor is a ceramic artist whose artworks incorporate destruction into the making process. based in ohio, glen uses the japanese artform of kintsugi to repair hand-made pottery and fine china which he himself breaks in catharsis. the classically beautiful gold, however, is exchanged for the abject - rusting metal, nails, scissors, barbed wire, or blackened soldering alloy. through the delicate art of repairing broken pieces to rediscover their wholeness, taylor bravely demonstrates how the intimate process of healing one’s trauma is seldom pretty.
“i find inspiration for my work by delving into the depths of my own emotions and personal experiences. my artistic endeavors are a reflection of my own autobiographical journey, drawing upon past traumas and my current understanding of the complexities and nuances of life.”
al torres
north carolina artist al torres is considered to be one of the only artists in the united states to continue on in the painting genre started by yaacov agam, torres has taken on the challenge to proceed further in this style. he is doing this in a representational manner. the visual effect in this genre of painting, is perceived as movement. revealing and concealing at the spectator’s pace. incredibly, he paints directly onto the painting surface, which are aluminum angles, at 45 degrees. torres is a full-time professional artist who received his mfa in painting from the new york academy of art (cum laude). he trained with renowned realists’ artists such as steven assael and vincent desiderio. torres was the head studio assistant for the nationally known portrait painter sharon sprung for seven years at the art students league of new york. his work has been exhibited in venues such as the gaston county museum, dallas, nc, the cape cod museum of art, cape cod, ma., the katonah museum of art, katonah, ny, the reading public museum, reading, pa, the queens museum of art, nyc, the mint museum of art, charlotte, nc, flushing town hall, nyc (a smithsonian institution affiliate) and sotheby's auction house, nyc. he won a 2018 mecklenburg regional artist grant and an asc artist support grant in 2023. that same year he had a one-person exhibition at the hickory museum of art in hickory, nc. he is an art professor at central piedmont community college in charlotte, nc. torres paints nearly every day in his art studio in huntersville. nc.
“in my multiview paintings i try to go beyond the physical presence of the person or object which i am rendering. my aim is to capture the essence of the subject. i hope to impart a sense of wonder. the painting will depict either a moment in time or is a visual dialogue through time. with my multiview paintings, the observer approaches the left side of the painting, where he or she sees the first image (left view). as the observer moves towards the center image of the painting (front view), a combination of the left and right views emerges. when the spectator moves over to the right side, the second complete image is manifested. in this type of painting one side may have small scale elements the other larger ones. the images of either side may have opposite meanings, but their juxtaposition connects them. with this kind of painting the revealed is hidden and the hidden is revealed at the viewer’s pace. in my work i try to bring in the fourth dimension – time. a sense of visual movement is perceived as one goes from the left to the right view. with the center (front) view, the combined images create an intertwining that could not be achieved with a diptych painting. ”
robyn rich
robyn rich was born in melbourne in 1971, she is an artist, wife and mother of one. after 6 years of studying visual arts at chisholm frankston, she is now embarking on building her art career, through exhibitions, commissions, workshops, artist talks and competitions. robyn enjoys working across a variety of mediums including drawing and fabric sculpture, but oil painting is her main passion.
working in oils, robyn’s aim is to provide narrative and comment on our everyday experiences, bringing to life the souls and the stories of the people and objects she paints. within her paintings she examines both the beauty and the emotion that comes with everyday life. she see’s beauty in the small, the forgotten and the sometimes very mundane. she is not only drawn to those objects we surround ourselves with, but fascinated with the way we relate to, and interact with them. the way they make us feel and the memories they evoke.
“i am very lucky to spend my days and sometimes nights creating intimate little worlds contained in reused and recycled objects. working predominately in oils i aim to provide narrative and comment on our everyday experiences, bringing to life the souls and the stories of the people and objects i paint. i love examining both the beauty and the emotion that comes with everyday life. i see beauty in the small, the forgotten and the sometimes very mundane. i am not only drawn to the objects we surround ourselves with, but the way we relate to and interact with them. the way they make us feel and the memories they evoke.
my story has been one of chronic illness which hasn’t always allowed me to do the things i have wanted to, but creating artwork has allowed me to connect with the world in many different ways. it has given me a voice and a presence far beyond anything i had ever hoped for. i also think my own experience has given me a deeper understanding of what others may be facing and has allowed me to sometimes see deep within the subjects i paint.
i have had a long fascination with eyes, inspired by the tradition and history of georgian lover’s eyes. these tokens of love came before photography and the wealthy would have the eye of a loved one painted and set in a piece of beautiful jewellery, allowing them to carry it with them wherever they went. but apart from that our eyes are amazing windows we look through to see the world and allow others to see into ours. they show our emotion, joy, heartache, longing, tiredness and health. every one is so individual and unique.”
Joshua yurges
virginia artist joshua yurges explored creativity from a young age and art has been a driving factor throughout his life. in elementary school, he began working with his carpenter father on job sites, learning how to tell a story with one of earth’s most familiar materials. just before his 21st birthday, joshua was stationed in rockland, maine with the united states coast guard. it was there that he decided to pursue a career in art. experiencing the electric spark of translating the imagined into the tangible, joshua came alive through his work.
forging an experience and authoring visual narratives, joshua explored a variety of artistic mediums. seeking inspiration and knowledge in all forms, he studied a variety of curricula in both the scientific and artistic realms after his time in the coast guard. his diverse history- from studies in horticulture and geology, to furniture making and installation art- influences his grounded connection to real world, while exploring what could be. surrounding himself with creatives, joshua met his wife, who further ignited his passion for the tactile, poetic experience of physical art.
a serendipitous trip to a hardware store introduced Joshua to lath for the first time. lath are the thin wooden strips behind historic plaster walls. this is often one of the first materials to be discarded when an older building is being renovated. joshua began paying close attention to wherever construction was taking place to see what material could be used back in his studio.
patience and method lend themselves well to lath, celebrating the inherent history of the time tested material. realizing this medium allowed resilience within unexpected limitations that were not present before in other work that he was making. after experimenting with art in a variety of mediums, when joshua discovered this material, a connection was made and a curiosity was opened.
all available work by each artist in the intro exhibition can be viewed on our website under the intro tab including sizing + pricing. hidell brooks gallery is by appointment. please call the gallery if you have any further questions.