October Issue 2000
Works by Lese Corrigan at Verner Gallery in Charleston
The
Verner Gallery, the oldest contemporary fine arts gallery in the
city of Charleston, SC, is pleased to announce an exhibition of
new paintings entitled Lowcountry Colors by Lese Corrigan
which will be on view Oct. 5 - 31. Corrigan's colorful, impasto
work recalls the energy of the impressionists' paintings with
a contemporary abstraction of Lowcountry landscapes, architecture
and still lifes. As a Charlestonian, she is continuing the tradition
of Elizabeth O'Neill Verner and the other Charleston Renaissance
artists by documenting the landscape of her time.
Born and bred in Charleston of the mid-1950s, Lese Corrigan learned at age ten that you could look at something and draw it. She found this concept as exciting as seeing leaves on trees after putting on her first pair of glasses. Corrigan fully immersed herself in the visual arts fourteen years ago. Teaching art, serving on the board of several arts organizations, writing art reviews and managing galleries has allowed her to see the art world from all sides. Corrigan is now taking all of her observations and putting the energy into her creations.
Primarily an oil painter, Corrigan does work in several other media including photography and clay sculpture. Her work is representational but more expressionistic than realistic. The oil paintings are full of color and the joyful playfulness of life. Unlike Monet's usage of several canvasses to convey the color changes which occur throughout the day, Corrigan often pulls together the colorful play of light into one painting. Painting en plein air permits the observation of the light's dance across the landscape and architecture and allows the spirit to soar in celebration of nature's beauty. And where else is this beauty as evident as in the Carolina Lowcountry?
Corrigan attempts to continue the search for truth and beauty as described in the writings from St. Augustine, Ruskin and Robert Henri. The search occurs through observation and experience. In believing that the need to create is as primary a need as eating and finding warmth, the creations are the outlet for the information and sensations gathered in seeing and living. It is the experience of seeking truth, which is beauty, which provides the inspiration for living and for creating.
Corrigan has paintings in collections throughout the southeast, in France and Great Britain including a painting commissioned by the Coca Cola Corporation and presented to Former First Lady Barbara Bush.
The gallery is home to the estate of Elizabeth O'Neill Verner and shows works by contemporary American artists including Daphne vom Baur, Lonnie Stewart, Gene Speer, Paul Bertholet, Mary Walker, Manning Williams and Robert Stark who are either local or have ties to the Lowcountry area.
The Verner Gallery celebrates contemporary, traditional as well as historical works of art. We invite the world to share in our local beauty and artists' interpretation of it.
For more info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings or call 843/722-4246 or on the web at (http://www.vernergallery.com).
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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Carolina Arts
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