Feature Articles
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August Issue 2004

Charleston Art Gallery & Portrait Studio in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Kelly Garst

"I want people to leave my work feeling inspired and with a new awareness of what a powerful component art is to life," says Kelly Garst of Seattle, WA, visiting artist at Charleston Art Gallery & Portrait Studio in Charleston, SC, through Aug. 31, 2004.

The emerging artist describes the figures in her work as "in our dreams." They are more clearly felt than seen," says Garst. "They are shrouded in misted landscapes and reaching with an urgency that we relate to without fully understanding." Inspired by what she calls "a sort of split second dream or vision," Garst translated her vision of figures tumbling though an ancient structure or monument to create, Structure, an acrylic on canvas. The repeated element of abstract figures creates a rhythmic pattern of its own, adding to the sense of energy and excitement of the entire image.

Intrigued by the physical effects of time and the elements, Garst reenacts this process in her own work by wearing away and rebuilding the surfaces of her art. She is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She also studied at the Atlanta College of Art and the Heatherley School of Art in London. An emerging artist, Garst has participated in a variety of solo and group shows near her home in Seattle.

Of the opportunity to study in London for two years, Garst says, "it opened my eyes to many different cultures, and to time. Ancient and timeless ideas of emotion and sensuality. I strive to recreate these ideas in the hopes of reaching something universal." Her artwork, she says, has been influenced by Cirque du Soleil, hieroglyphics, ancient East Indian relief sculpture, Julian Schnable, Henri Matisse, and music by Philip Glass. "I am attracted to ancient stories and ideas relating to time and the elements," she says.

Garst also cites Georgia O'Keeffe as a role model because "painting was her first priority." Other artists who she says have influenced her growth are Henri Rousseau, Wassily Kandinksy, Paul Klee, Giorgio de Chirico, Frida Kahlo and Alberto Giacometti.

The Catcher, another acrylic on canvas, was created when overwhelmed by the crazy pace of her own life. Garst found a visual metaphor for "flying high without a net" while watching the circus drama of Cirque du Soleil. She created The Catcher as a tribute to the drama of that moment, and depicted the audience as an abstract mass below the two acrobats. The linked hands are directly above the central triangular point of the audience, as if willing your eye to seek out that crucial spot in the image.

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/724-3424, e-mail at (CCoth444@aol.com) or at (www.charlestonartgallery.com).


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