Feature Articles


March Issue 2000

Exhibits at Theatre Art Galleries in High Point, NC

Theatre Art Galleries (TAG) in High Point, NC, is exhibiting artwork by professional and student artists, which expresses non-traditional spiritual content on view in three galleries from Mar. 2 - 30. These artists have created their own personal means of ceremony through their art. Creating Ceremony is a group show by Cynthia Aldrich, Wayne Epperly, Amy Funderburk, and Lea Lackey-Zachman in which these artists express the influence of ancient art and spirituality on their work. The other exhibits include, TAG's 24th Annual Student Show, Creating Ceremony, and the High Point Fine Art Guild's Spring Juried Show.

Showing in Main Gallery, Cynthia Aldrich is a ceramic sculptor from Durham, NC, whose images consist of goddess figures. These contemporary interpretations of actual ancient archeological figures are meant to elicit feelings of timelessness, awe, power, and spirituality. Inspired by sculptures from as far back as 30,000 BC and from civilizations around the world, these clay goddess sculptures possess a simplicity of form, clarity of line and grace that make them universal.

Wayne Epperly is a free-lance graphic artist from Graham, NC, who is exhibiting large oil paintings derived from images of prehistoric cave paintings. His work portrays the spiritual and earthly connection of the hunter and the beast. The colors and textures of the paint emanate the richness of earthy minerals, and the movement and forms of the animals are lyrical and reverent.

Amy Funderburk from Winston-Salem, NC, is a skilled painter and teacher whose monumental figurative paintings depict her interpretation of the Tarot and the Zodiac. These minutely detailed works combine elements of the artist's personal symbolism as well as ancient and medieval images. Ancient Celtic spirituality has been an inspiration for Funderburk's work. The artist states, "By visually retelling stories of ancestral heritage of which many are not aware, we can better understand our own roots."

Also exhibiting in Main Gallery, Winston-Salem artist, Lea Lackey-Zachman is showing a series of monotypes depicting images from an ancient Jewish book called the Kaballah (or Qabala). These prints are an exploration into symbols, numbers and colors as they relate to the Tree of Life and the sephiroth of this little-known mystical book. This creative process brings the artist to this conclusion: "Through exposing ourselves to symbolic expressions of the highest order, we might become more understanding and tolerant in our thinking, more able to communicate nonverbally, more capable of understanding visual images and ultimately more personally and spiritually attuned."

TAG's 24th Annual Student Show in Gallery B is exhibiting artworks from eleven area middle and high schools. The theme of this show is also Creating Ceremony. Many of these student artists participated in the outreach program, TAG-into-the-Schools, in which professional artist, Weston Hammond, worked with them to create their own "personal reliquaries" expressing the important elements in their lives, whether it be spirituality, family, school, friends, nature, sports, etc. All of these aspects of their lives can involve some sort of ceremony or ritual. The schools that will be participating in this show are Archdale-Trinity Middle, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jamestown Middle, Southwest Middle, Welborn Middle, Westchester Academy, Andrews High, Central High, Ragsdale High, Southern Guilford High, and Trinity High. Weston Hammond will judge the show and TAG will award ribbons to first, second, third and honorable mentions and will award certificates of participation to all exhibiting artists.

The High Point Fine Art Guild will host their Spring Juried Show in Gallery C. The juror for this show is Lib Bell, former Greensboro City District Art Supervisor.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings or call TAG at 336/487-2137.

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