December 2011

M Gallery of Fine Art SE in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Oleg Radvan, Anthony Adcock, and Natalie Holland

M Gallery of Fine Art SE in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Realism on the Edge, featuring works by Oleg Radvan, Anthony Adcock, and Natalie Holland, on view from Dec. 2 - 31, 2011. A reception will be held on Dec. 2, from 5-8pm in tandem with the First Friday Art Walk and French Quarter Art Walk.

All three artists’ work displays some kind of “edge,” whether stylistically and thematically. Many of Oleg Radvan’s pieces, for example, have a dark thread running through them. Her painting, Not Born Child, shows a woman guarding an egg. With a hat that recalls a bird’s nest, this woman symbolizes the protective mother. Her intense gaze is a warning to the viewer. It says: “look but do not touch.” Symbolism is paramount in this piece, with the egg surrounded by a glass vase, implying the fragility of the life of the “not born child.”

Natalie Holland’s pieces, like Radvan’s, are also strongly symbolic. Some of them, like the painting, Sisters, send a political message that possesses a certain edge. In Sisters, for example, there are two women who embrace each other. The one on the left is a modern woman, dressed in jeans and a red shirt. The woman on the right, however, is dressed in a black berka. All you can see is her eyes. This painting juxtaposes the traditional and conservative with the modern and liberal. It asks the viewer to think about the differences between these women, and perhaps even more poignant, their many similarities. This painting contains a commentary on the changes occurring in the Arab world today, and in particular, the Arab woman’s world.

Anthony Adcock’s pieces are modern pieces with stylistic and thematic edginess. A master of trompe l’oeil, subjects and objects seem to “pop” off the canvas. His photorealistic portrayal of objects like burned paper, keys, and paintbrushes, are fresh, young, and well…edgy. His larger work, Live Cast, is particularly stunning, showing the plaster cast of a man’s face surrounded by sticky notes.

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call Carlen Quinn at 843/727-4500 or e-mail to (cquinn@mgalleryoffineart.com).

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