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March Issue 2007
The Sylvan Gallery in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Rhett Thurman
The
Sylvan Gallery in Charleston, SC, is proud to present the newest
body of work by Rhett Thurman in a show entitled, Through My
Eyes. The exhibition opens on Mar. 2 and continues through
Mar. 31, 2007.
Thurman's body of new paintings is looser and more tactile than in the past. It contains local, figurative and travel pieces including Parisian scenes from her trip last fall. "If light falls on it and it has color, I am apt to paint it" is the mantra used by Thurman to describe her choice of subject matter. The soft, luminous works that mimic Thurman's life approach as a southern lady are reflections of her soft words glowing with the light and joy of the world around her.
Thurman, who has always been compelled to make art, hopes that growth in her work is always evident to the viewer. She explains that she went through a period of time when she had a high regard for being chosen for national shows. Having done that Thurman woke up one day and realized that did not define her or the work and it was a passage. And a helpful passage it was as it is hard to know how one is doing, but gaining respect from those we respect and seeing a joyful reaction from clients provides the gauge needed - now that Charleston is a destination for international art collectors.
That said, Thurman feels painters should paint about what they know yet the work should transcend the known and have a universal quality. Each new show should reflect growth from the last show - not necessarily a major change but the works should not have a feeling of sameness. Individuality shines through in the painter's style but Thurman is always wanting to push out the edges of the safety zone and to move the work to a level where it transcends her past work and the limits of local and experience.
Thurman has achieved national acclaim for both her oils and watercolors. Having exhibited with the prestigious American and National Watercolor Societies, her work has been featured in national publications, and is included in private, museum and corporate collections. She was selected to paint renowned blacksmith, Philip Simmons, for the Josiah Tenant House in Charleston. Thurman was the 2003 artist in residence for the Gibbes Museum of Art Poets' and Painters' program. Thurman is the recipient of the 1995 Outstanding Alumna Award from Queens College, where she earned her degree in studio art. Her education and painting experience include further study in Europe and the United States.
A dedicated painter, Thurman's paintings are romantic without being romanticized. Whether painting Charleston or the west, Africa or Europe, her highly identifiable style makes one's heart sing and provides a comforting sense of place. Thurman's figurative work illustrates the differences in local while showing the human element is the same here as the next place. A South Carolina native, she appreciates the beauty around her at home and abroad.
The Sylvan Gallery focuses on 20th and 21st
century representational art and carries a large selection of
sculpture. They are pleased to now represent the work of John
Carroll Doyle as well as that of thirty or so artists of world
renown.
For further info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 843/722-2172 or visit (www.thesylvangallery.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2007 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2007 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
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