sarah helser

until the light comes

november 7 – december 20, 2014

each time i create a painting it is in the hope to reshape the familiar into the numinous and magical essence of what it carries. it is the brief glimmering speck of a dream, made permanently tangible before it is lost in the waking hours. joining the realistic with the imagined breathes harmony in the contrast and reshapes and impacts the way we see.  in every piece there is a certain gravity combined with playfulness and whimsy, reflecting the seldom caught occasions of marvel in our ordinary lives.  seized for a moment, the paradise of childlike imaginings are not lost but remembered, hoped for, realized and resurrected in the mind. 

i paint as a way to make definite the combination of both experience and the deeply personal reflections of the imagination. i approach each painting with an openness, letting it become fully changed from any initial concept. completely understanding a narrative while i create is not important. instead i allow the imagery to lead me, a conversation that illuminates and pulls at the hidden longings and beauty of the heart.  using layering and multiple mediums, each painting forms and reforms until it comes into its own organic completion.  i myself am often surprised by its outcome. i cannot capture all of the world around me, so for a brief moment i marvel in the mystery that it has captured me. they are meant to stand as physical reminders, a moment to reflect that beauty is not lost, that the dreamer and the child still exist within.  they are the embodiment of these things, combined with the bittersweet gravity that years and life bring.  the hope though, is that the pulse of these works would soften the weight, standing as a strip of gold hiding in the crease of a grey morning.

--sarah helser, 2014

new paintings

september 5 – october 31, 2014

i paint personal refuges and interior landscapes - places to visit for solace and sanctuary. much of my work is intuitive.   i try to create a connection – however fleeting - between the viewer and the power of landscape, the web of life, the idea of nature itself.

i think about the natural world not as an expendable resource but as a memory of home, the subject of longing and dreams.  and  i am fascinated by vessels, the egg, the nest, the bowl, the landscape, the sky- the parts of nature that hold and contain, whether natural or man-made.  my paintings are also about contrast- the contrast between light and dark, movement and stillness, civilization and wilderness. these have been central themes of my work for many years

my blank canvases are approached without a predefined image and the painting is developed in a slow, organic way. painting in refined layers allows me to explore the narrative and emotional content of each composition over time. using this method, i try to express why a sunset fills us with wonder, why a certain quality of light can make a busy day suddenly still, and why the momentary sound of a bird call can seem - for that instant - like the most important thing in the world.  

--david kroll  2014

women in abstract

 july 11 – august 30, 2014 

opening reception

 friday, july 11th

6 to 8pm

selena beaudry, sally king benedict, page davis, chris hayman, ruth ava lyons, jenny nelson, windy o'connor, virginia scotchie, kate long stevenson, amanda talley 

selena beaudry

color, cut, stripe + mark

may 2 – june 28, 2014

"color, cut, stripe and mark are the words that describe this body of work.  all four are the actions used to make the piles and the wall installation.  when making the paintings all of the words are physically represented with the exception of cut.  cut can be replaced in the paintings with the word stick. "

selena beaudry, 2014 

ruth ava lyons

paradise lost

+ 

johan hagaman

a vine grows around it

march 7 –april 26, 2014

paradise lost

an eco-reading of milton’s epic poem paradise lost suggests ideas of stewardship of the land along with the monumental exploration of our inner selves. modern sensibilities can appreciate the story of the fall from grace, bringing “eden” into perspective during these crucial times of environmental crisis.  whether it be our understanding of our role in the control of wildfires in giant sequoia groves to protecting the health of phytoplankton microorganisms in the great barrier reef, we must all tend our garden and come to know the earth.  this work is a response to the conflicting forces in this shifting imbalance of paradise. 

--ruth ava lyons, 2014

a vine grows around it

weed.  dig.  dance.  observe. communicate.  pollinate.  bloom.  my art explores personal mythmaking, and the dualities-- fate/luck and choice, security and insecurity, belief and knowing— often involved in shaping our stories; and it also often references literature, mythology, the cosmos, current events , and especially the flora and fauna of my southern environment—and paradox.

                                                                        --johan hagaman, 2014

 january 10 - february 28, 2014

a theme that is ever present in this exhibition is timeless places.  the unpredictable nature of these collage paintings lead me and inspire freshness for what I love to do.  the artist, marc chagall once said, “art must be an expression of love or it is nothing”.  my thirst for places of uniqueness have taken me on this creative journey. 

scott upton

whispers of nature

+

katy schneider

new paintings

november 1 – december 21, 2013

amanda talley "informal forms"

bill braun “my fourth grader could do that!”

september 6 – october 26, 2013

​benjamin shamback * tony hernandez * ron porter

june 8 - august 30, 2013

march 15 - may 31, 2013

hidell brooks gallery is celebrating our fifteenth year anniversary with a special group exhibition in our newly renovated and expanded gallery. all gallery artists have created new works to commemorate our 15 years in the arts. we have continued with our tradition of introducing artists rarely exhibited in north carolina. this exhibition will be an excellent opportunity to view works by all of our artists who will be having upcoming solo exhibitions in the next several years.