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October Issue 2007
Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, SC, Feature Works by Sean Clancy
New
York-based painter Sean Clancy in his first solo exhibition finds
beauty in dark places in a series of 10 new works entitled In
The Dark, on view from Oct. 5 - 31, 2007, in the downstairs
gallery space at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, SC. Clancy
draws inspiration from old master's works to create classic-realist
paintings in a uniquely romantic way.
Last January, Clancy was introduced to Charleston when he began showing at Robert Lange Studios. Since then, he has been slowly preparing for this exhibition and has recently finished the series after returning from an inspirational trip to France.
Clancy's timeless portraits are painted in a soft, almost quiet manner, using washes of paint to create form. This is in stark contrast to the scale of his paintings, the smallest of which is 32-inches by 46-inches. Clancy adds details and references that provoke open narratives. In this latest series he draws from literary works within poetry, mythology and epic tales.
For In His Sleep, one of the works from the show, Clancy has recreated a scene from a dream sequence in Homer's Iliad. The massive 48-inch by 68-inch painting shows an outstretched armor-clad warrior holding a single white rose. In Clancy's Dreamer of Love painting, a young man poised in a bathtub directly references Jacques-Louis David's The Death of Marat.
"I've had a ongoing love affair with the color of dark; that part of the palette and of your mind where your eyes can play tricks," says Clancy. "I love taking darker images that at first glance appear sinister and then translating them into romantic and beautiful moments."
Clancy is continually exploring the element of chiaroscuro in his paintings. For example, in one of the paintings for his October show titled, The Good Part in His Story, a nude woman's back is draped in fabric; the lines of her body are defined by a bold contrast between the light fabric and the dark room.
"As a romantic painter, I love brooding works by painters like Goya and Velazques," says Clancy. "I find a certain mystery in paintings that leave room for your imagination."
For further information check our SC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/805-8052 or visit (www.robertlangestudios.com).
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