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A Special BAC Online Art Exhibition
The Still Life
Presented by our Dan and Cynthia Bickey Art Gallery
We have all been forced to slow down and stay in place. We must do this to keep safe and make sure we keep our neighbors safe. All artwork captures a particular moment in time. For artists, it’s not too much of a change to shelter in place and isolate. An artist spends much of their life taking time alone in a studio; considering stories and creating moments. Once it’s ready to exhibit, a work of art makes us stop and consider. One of the most beautiful things about viewing art is it forces us to slow down. The last two months inspired us to prompt these artists to share their work in this exhibition. We hope you enjoy the exhibition.
If you would like to purchase a piece in this exhibition, please message us here for more information.
Featured artists: Ginger Danz, Michael Davis, Chris DeMaria, Stacey Elder, Brian Fencl, Mateo Fuentes, Mary Hurst, Rebecca Kiger, Adam Mathews, Teresa McGlothlin, Betty McMullen, Amanda Miller, Saja Montague, Robby Moore, Leslie Norris, Shane Pierce, Jesse Thornton, Kevin Umbel & Domi Williams.
The Still Life | Art Gallery
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Featured Artists
Ginger Danz
Artist Statement
“There’s no time like the seclusion of a global pandemic to begin a new creative cycle. As the news cycle ramped up and information became more and more terrifying, I found myself shutting down entirely. I jumped on board the collective anxiety train and took a wild ride until I wrenched myself away from the news and social media. Somehow collage seemed like the only accessible medium for the moment. The comforting childhood process of cutting and gluing drew me in and I gradually found my creative groove again through the absorbing process of sorting through piles of unfinished paintings. Still life has always appealed to me, and I have found exploring this subject matter through modern collage deeply soothing and satisfying in these unsettling times.”
Bio
Ginger Danz is a professional artist living in Fayetteville, WV. Her work can be found at Tamarack and Beckley Art Center in Beckley, Riff Raff Arts Collective in Princeton, and Art Emporium and Apartment Earth in Charleston. Online, her work can be found at gingerdanz.com, instagram.com/gingerdanzart and facebook.com/GingerDanzArt/
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Michael Davis
Chris DeMaria
Instagram @chrisdemaria76
Stacey Elder
Artist Statement
As an artist, I am interested in creating fun, spontaneous
paintings filled with vivid color and textured surfaces. Thick layers
of paint are poured, splattered and scraped as an exploration and
understanding of a previous response. I aim to have multiple
textures that evoke different sensations when viewed. Shiny, dry
and coagulated surfaces trigger curiosity which provoke interest in
the process and material of which the painting was made. As I
achieve such surfaces, I begin to investigate and dissect my
previous responses, to re-engage their effects in creating a
painting with presence. It is through intuitively responding to each
application that my work develops and I gain understanding of
formal relationships. Consistent transformation allows for
organization within each composition -- a balance that allows for
final resolution.
Bio
Artist Stacey Elder earned her BA in a Studio Art from Fairmont State University in 2010. In 2013, she obtained her MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia located in Athens, GA. During her three year stay in Athens, Elder exhibited work through out Georgia including the prestige Georgia Museum of Art. She also exhibited work by invitation at the Contemporary Art Fair in Chelsea, NY. Other shows include Lady-Like in Portland Maine and Material Bliss in Charleston,WV. Elder most recently was featured in Tamarack’s Best of WV Juried Exhibition and was awarded Best in Show. Online features include Create Magazine, Young Space, and I Like Your Work Podcast. She currently works and resides in Clarksburg, WV. To contact or to browse work by Stacey Elder please visit www.staceyelderart.weebly.com or email her at staceyelderart@gmail.com
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Brian Fencl
Bio
Brian Fencl earned his MFA in Drawing from the New York Academy of Art in New York City. and his BFA in Illustration from Art Center College of Design located in Pasadena, California. Brian is currently a Professor of Art at West Liberty University in West Virginia where he is responsible for teaching drawing, illustration and art history. Since 2010 he has been the Chair of the Department of Media and Visual Art. He lives in Wheeling, WV with his wife and two sons. His core mission is a devotion to possibilities.
Instagram: @fenclstudio
Mateo Fuentes
Artist Statement
I use my passion for printmaking to explore themes of horror, classic monsters and villains who have lost their bite as time marched forward, reinventing their genres and leaving them to decay. By repackaging and re-purposing these classic horror icons I hope to capture the beauty of their prime. In this the viewer may find charm, disgust, humor or even nostalgia. We all know the feeling of standing on the outside looking in. These creatures exist solely on the outside and have had their identities forged in those cold, dark spaces. By recreating them in bright color palettes I seek to re-frame their worlds in a new light. This subversion gives the viewer another way to respond to these old narratives, to see something more than just horrific, frightening or worst of all, forgotten monsters.
Bio
Mateo Fuentes is a Printmaker from Newell, West Virginia.
Many of the themes and influences in Mateo’s work are from the classic horror, 80’s action, and sci-fi films he grew up with as a child. His work primarily uses collagraph printmaking, relief, and silkscreen.
Website: www.mateofuentes.com
Instagram: @hauntingthrulife
Mary Hurst
Artist Statement
I am drawn to the creative process as an avenue to explore and reveal the unseen. I favor oil paint for this process because of its inherent richness and potential to last for generations. I like to think of the long life a painting might have as I am painting it.
Beginning with photographs that I take, I intend to portray the invisible energies that are at play all around us, especially in nature. Early on in the process, the reference photos are abandoned and intuition takes over. The imagined spirit of nature comes out in shapes and forms that are not planned, but emerge from the subconscious. Minute detail is intended to invite the viewer in for a close look.
By making visible what can be detected but not seen in the physical world, my goals as a painter are to remind the viewer of the deep connection we share with our planet, and heighten the appreciation of nature in our collective consciousness.
Bio
Mary Hurst is an oil painter living and working in Lewisburg, West Virginia. She began painting while studying studio art at West Virginia University, where she received her BFA in 2009. Originally from the New River Gorge region, the forests of West Virginia are a primary source of inspiration for her work. Her work can be found in private collections across the country and abroad, and her work is shown in galleries around the state.
Instagram @jung_gal
About “28 Mandalas”
A departure from my usual oil painting process, creating mandalas came up organically for me while sheltering at home. Evoking stillness of mind and wholeness of self, “28 Mandalas” provided a welcome distraction from the chaos of the world. The uplifting colors and harmonious design theme transported me into the flow state. The piece comes ready to hang in a modern silver frame with a brushed metal finish.
Rebecca Kiger
Instagram: @rebecca_kiger
Adam Mathews
Bio
Adam Mathews is an artist currently residing in his hometown of Fayetteville, WV. Adam is an explorer in the further reaches of representation. He uses acrylic paints and pen and ink as his tools for transforming the traditional expectation for surrealist and abstract art. His paintings and illustrations can be found in restaurants, design firms, small businesses, and in many homes across the United States. One of his most recent projects is working with the local band Black Garlic – creating all of their art from flyers to a full album. While some people simply make art, Adam is one of those artists who lives to create it.
Teresa McGlothlin
Statement about the pieces
Both Overload and Happy Place were created during the ongoing quarantine. Like most of us, a lot of my time has been searching for factual information and trying to stay optimistic. Mosaic has been a great source of stress relief amid these overwhelming yet transformative times.
Bio
Since the day I started gathering glass at waterfalls near my home in Fayette County, I haven't stopped creating mosaics. Although I prefer to work in stained glass now, the act of deconstruction and reconstruction is a constant source of joy. My surroundings always motivate me, but I'm also inspired by the sheer beauty of the glass I get to shatter and make whole again.
Betty McMullen
Artist’s Statement
May 2020 - The Stay at Home order of the last months has not been too difficult for me. I am lucky. I’m an artist and introvert. I’m used to being alone and enjoy staying at home. I have a great studio to work in and shut out the world. However, I’m concerned about the world and this pandemic. Life for us all will be changed. To shut out the worries, I began a black and white painting expressing my feelings of uncertainty with large black marks, intuitively adding and subtracting white and grey til everything felt balanced or rather off balance. Then I began working in bold color blocks in a very static composition. This work became very meditative…very still. I found enjoyment in mixing the many colors to achieve a harmonious, pleasing result. The Pink moon a few weeks back stayed in the back of my mind, and became the subject of a more intuitive, loose painting. Fish Gotta Swim… was cropped from a larger painting that got out of hand. Sometimes I have too many ideas for a painting and make the mistake of trying them all. I changed color and direction so many times that I became frustrated. This section retained the feeling I was trying to achieve. Which is a very outside the box sort of feeling. I hope these paintings give reason to smile and think about colors an shapes. Betty McMullen Find me on Facebook, Instagram and my website, bettymcmullen.com
Bio
Betty McMullen is an award-winning artist working in many styles and mediums. She majored in Art, earning a B.S. Degree from Mississippi University for Women. She studied abstract painting, weaving and Art History. She worked in textiles for many years, earning many awards and commissions. However, painting remained her first love. She began taking workshops around the USA and Italy in 2009. Major influences are abstract painters and teachers Stephen Aimone and Nancy Hillis. She paints every day in her newly built studio next to her home in Charleston, WV. As a child, she traveled overseas with her parents due to her father’s work as a Chemical Engineer. They lived in South Korea, Malaysia. Trinidad, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and India. The experiences she had in these countries contributed to her sense of design and color. Betty has taught art and has belonged to numerous art organizations, recently serving on the Artist’s Advisory Board at Tamarack. Her work has been juried into Tamarack in all three categories: Craft, Fine Craft, and Fine Art. She exhibits work at The Purple Moon, and Spa Bliss in Charleston. More work can be viewed at bettymcmullen.com. She has exhibited and won awards in many juried art shows throughout the country. She has won a Professional Development Grant and an Artist Fellowship from the Division of Culture and History of the State of West Virginia. She and her husband, Marshall moved to Charleston in 1981. “I’m driven to paint. I love to paint. When I’m not painting, I’m thinking about painting. I have a need to create…but the process is just as important as the finished piece.”
Amanda Jane Miller
About the work
“Preening” is a study of my pet duck during quarantine. I watch
them often, but until now never took the time to draw one.
Bio
Amanda Jane is a West Virginia native who finds inspiration in
plants, animals, and history. She creates digitally, in addition to drawing with a variety of traditional media. She has worked with authors, musicians, farmers, and chefs to tell their stories.
Charleston, WV
Instagram: @_mander_jane_
Facebook: facebook.com/amandajaneart
Saja Montague
Instagram: @sajakeytea
Robby Moore
Artist Statement
Most of my media is found materials which consist of paper, paint, ink, pencil, thread, and fabric. I mostly use common, often discarded, items to create my work. I use what I have to communicate the strange, triumphant, beautiful, and tragic things that I observe and experience in my daily life. I try to express, through my figures, the sadness and confidence that comes from the depth gained from thoughtfulness. My process often begins with practical choices like composition and design, and then quickly yields to subconscious thought. After a series of impulsive, capricious and reckless choices, I revert back to an orderly state, where I arrange and edit in an effort to tell a short visual story.
Bio
I was born and currently reside in Beckley, West Virginia with my wife, Aida, and our critters. I graduated with a Bachelor of Art degree in Studio Arts and a minor in Theatre from Concord University. I began professionally exhibiting artwork in 1999. In 2004, I co-founded Treehouse Arts Ensemble, an arts organization dedicated to producing original fine and performing art in West Virginia, and currently serve on the Board of Directors. I currently work at Beckley Art Center as Executive Director.
I have curated many art exhibitions in West Virginia and Ohio; I love curating exhibitions in unconventional spaces. I am a theatrical director, and have also worked professionally as a scenic designer/artist, costumer, actor, technician and marionette puppeteer. From 2011 to 2016, I was a Tamarack resident studio artist at Tamarack in Beckley, WV, and have been a juried artist there since 2008. I was once named one of the Top 15 Tamarack Artists. My work has been exhibited in various spaces including Apartment Earth and Art Emporium in Charleston, WV, The Paine Gallery in Bluefield, WV and The Huntington Museum in Huntington, WV.
@robbymooreart
Leslie Norris
Artist Statement
I am drawn to the images that I grew up with: toys, games, commercial packaging, and modern variations of these things. My work is at once retro and socially subversive. I am saying, “Hey, look at this! We are surrounded by these images but we don’t notice them!” It’s as if my work comes from the leavings, the rags and bones, the detritus of a cultural parade that has just gone by. I am simply reassembling the pieces in personal and subjective ways and plastering my world with pictures.
Bio:
Sugar Pop Press is the home studio of West Virginia printmaker, Leslie Norris. Created with bright colors and nostalgic whimsy, Leslie's work focuses on companionship, moments of reflection, and imagination at playtime. Each print is built as its own little world, telling its own little story. These stories unfold by layering together precious objects and consumer goods with soft, occasionally mundane moments. Through this process a completed image emerges, telling of a shared experience made richer by the small pieces that hold it together.
All of Leslie's work is drawn and printed in her studio in Morgantown, West Virginia.
You can follow Leslie's work on her website: www.SugarPopPress.com
Instagram: Sugar Pop Press
Facebook: Sugar Pop Press
Shane Pierce
Instagram: @tsunamigainsbourg
Jesse Thornton
Bio
I'm a photographer, native of Point Pleasant and current resident of Huntington, West Virginia. My favorite subject to shoot is the West Virginian landscape. I feel this state has some of the richest and most diverse scenery in the Appalachians. I find West Virginia to be a little-known gem that has not yet been descended upon by the masses, and a photographer's dream that is continuously rewarding with fresh views throughout the changing seasons. My influences come from the realms of science and fantasy. My aim is to capture the surreal nature of our landscapes, while encouraging others to discover the beauty of West Virginia. I want to offer WV natives and transplants imagery of home they can be proud to display.
Kevin Umbel
Bio
Photography for me has been many things, though the one thing I’d rather not be called or labeled as is a Photographer. It does so happen that I use a camera to create my work and it is the most important physical tool used in my process, but it’s from within that my work is envisioned and brought to life. My journey with a camera started when I was in middle school. It was during a photography class that I fell in love with the process of arranging people, shapes, colors, lines, etc. into a rectangle, pressing the shutter and capturing them forever, frozen in time. My creative journey would lead me through many different subject phases and attempts to find a voice but it wasn’t until I broke free of literal and representational photography that I would find it.
To describe the motivation for my work today is like riding a wave. I attempt to keep my senses open to my current surroundings and be willing to see the world through my present emotions and simply create. The idea of a destination, or leaving the house with an image in mind has been dissolved from my creative process and has been replaced with capturing feelings, shapes, colors, lines, textures; acting out of intuition with my camera as opposed to creating something we have all seen and been associated with before.
When presenting my work I aspire to provoke something from within the viewer. To disarm them of their predispositions, allow them to wander their interior and get lost in the viewing. I wish to allow for the imagination to ebb and flow throughout the composition and drum up a conversation or simply leave them with a feeling previous to before.
Website - www.kevinumbelphotography.com
Instagram - @kevinumbelphotography
Domi Williams
What I really like about painting is the feel of the paint on the canvas as the knife streaks across it and the light seems to appear when the underpainting starts to play hide and seek with the opaque paint.
I paint mainly on canvas and use buttery Italian acrylic paint. Because I’m partial to the wet on wet technique of oil, and because of the quick drying nature of acrylic paints, I work rather fast. I use brushes in my under-paintings but almost exclusively knives in the final stages. My
palette has always been very simple—a phalo green and a phalo blue, a purple, a red, 2 cadmium yellows and a white. I like to keep everything very loose. Starting with a thumbnail sketch, I work out most problems on the canvas in charcoal. I then paint the underpainting — working out everything else necessary at this stage. Darks, lights, shapes... I use no white at this point, keeping the paints somewhat thin and transparent. For the last step I start fresh and finish everything off quickly using palette knives and thick paint. Once dry my paintings are lightly varnished. My subjects vary... architectural, landscapes, still life, sailboats and marina......
FB: DomiWilliamsArtGallery
IG : DomiWilliamsArt
Etsy : DomiWilliamsArt
Photo Gallery
Void Drifting
$60.00
Fine Art Print
11" x 17"
Mateo Fuentes
Instagram: @hauntingthrulife
What Day Is It?
$1200.00
Mixed Media
48" x 36"
Betty McMullen
Instagram: @mcmullenbetty
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