October 2011

Elder Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Offers Exhibit of Works by American Women

Elder Gallery in Charlotte, NC, will present the exhibit, American Women, on view from Oct. 7 - 31, 2011. A reception will be held on Oct. 7, from 6-8pm.

For years women artists have worked to gain equal footing to their male counterparts. Artists such as Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan, Elaine de Kooning, and Helen Frankenthler, like many other gifted women, created exceptional artwork. Through their persistence and talent they were able to break down barriers in the male-dominated American art scene.

Elder Gallery’s exhibition, American Women, honors eleven women artists whose work has earned recognition in the national and international art world.

The following artists are included in the exhibition: Martha Armstrong, Cheryl Chapman, Cora Cohen, Mary Erickson, Claire Miller Hopkins, Cathryn Miles, Stephanie Neely, Jane Allen Nodine, Anne Raymond, Betty Anglin Smith, and Angelita Surmon.

Success for these painters stems from total dedication to their art and desire to perfect their techniques and to explore new methods and subject matter. A number of the artists share their talents by teaching others at colleges, universities, art academies, and workshops.

Paintings selected for the exhibition range from photo realism to total abstraction. Nodine’s abstract encaustic paintings and Neely’s oil pastel paintings are excellent examples of complex techniques that have resulted in national acclaim.

Jane Allen Nodine is well-known for her contributions to teaching and higher education, and in 2008 was recognized by the University of South Carolina Upstate with the Faculty Award for Scholarly and Creative Pursuits. In 2004 she received the SECAC Award for Teaching Excellence by the Southeastern College Art Conference. Her career in art spans several decades, and in 1999 she was selected by the South Carolina State Museum and the South Carolina Arts Commission as one of the one hundred most significant artists in South Carolina during the 20th Century.

Stephanie Neely is a Signature Member of the Oil Pastel Society, Member of International Guild of Realism, and an Associate Member of Oil Painters of America. She most recently won the Thomas Moran Award at the Salmagundi Club of New York, was a Finalist in International Artist Magazine’s Still Life and Floral Competition, and First Place, Pastel in Hilton Head Art League National Exhibition.

Anne Raymond’s work is in the permanent collections of major museums including The Boston Museum of Fine Arts and The Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin. She has shown extensively in one-person and group shows in the United States and abroad. Noteworthy galleries in New York; North Carolina; Illinois; Arizona; Texas; California; Oregon; Florida; and Wisconsin have exhibited her work.

Martha Armstrong was awarded the Hamish Fellowship from Smith College, the Camargo Foundation Grant, Cassis, France, and has served as Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. She has served as Visiting Artist, International School of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture, Umbria, Italy; Visiting Artist at the University of New Hampshire, the University of South Carolina, American University, and at Dartmouth College. She also has served as Visiting Critic, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Cheryl Chapman lives and paints in Louisville, KY. She holds an MFA from the University of Kentucky and her work has been exhibited nationally and is held in significant national and international collections.

Cora Cohen’s resume includes awards from The Pollock / Krasner Foundation, The Edward F. Albee Foundation Residency, Montauk, NY, The Marie Wash Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program Grant, The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Award, The Salzman Foundation Award and The Kohler Fund Award, to name a few. Her work is shown around the United States and Europe.

As an artist and gallery owner in Charleston, Betty Anglin Smith has seen her widely-collected lowcountry landscapes evolve into the world of abstract. “As I enter my fourth decade of painting, my art spirit has been renewed and energized with my recent venture into abstract expressionism. Although I will continue to enjoy painting the landscape, it is now such a pleasure to me to also approach the canvas, not with the subject in mind, but now it is the experience of the action of painting that is the focus. It is so liberating to just ‘play with paint’ and see what beauty, excitement and emotions develop....like releasing the subconscious. In fact, I have released my inner child! It is creativity at a new level” says Smith.

Claire Miller Hopkins lives in Spartanburg, SC, and has offered individual and group instruction to regional artists for over thirty years. She has been accorded “Master Pastelist” designation by the Pastel Society of America, is an award-winning member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast and has been designated a Knickerbocker Artist in New York City.

Mary Erickson studied with noted Maritime artist Don Demers and wildlife artist John Seerey-Lester. She is a founding member of SPAA, member of The Group of Eight, Oil Painters of America,

American Impressionist Society, and American Society of Marine Artists.

Cathryn Miles teaches at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Her work has been exhibited throughout the southeastern United States, Mexico, and Finland. Throughout her painting career Miles has experimented with numerous styles, formats and subject matter. Her largest body of work, however, has always focused on landscapes. Within the past ten years she has researched Japanese and other Asian landscape painting and has found her work migrating to a more subdued palette with a definite tendency towards symbolism in content. 

As a native Oregonian Angelita Surmon has dedicated much of her time to painting the lush landscapes in the American northwest. She has served as art instructor, panelist, gallery director, art juror, and artist-in-residence. Her paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States and are contained in many corporate, public, and private collections.

“The subject of human response to nature holds a collective appeal. My paintings illustrate current conditions and the vitality of the landscape. I am intrigued by the mind’s image of nature and the associations, memories and reflections that image invokes” says Surmon.

For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/370-6337 or visit (www.elderart.com).

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