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January Issue 2006
Capehart Beck, the Upstairs Gallery in Blowing Rock, NC, Features Works by Wayne Trapp
Capehart
Beck, the Upstairs Gallery in Blowing Rock, NC, will present the
exhibit, Art & Mastery & Play, featuring life drawings
by Wayne Trapp. The exhibit will be on view through Jan. 31, 2006.
Music - preferably jazz
or classical.
Incense - a spicy or musky scent.
Model - whose every gesture, at rest or in pose, is slightly exaggerated.
With these elements in place, the artist, Wayne Trapp can commence his weekly ritual of artistic rejuvenation. A necessary endeavor - for his relentless work ethic has left him physically sore and - at times - weary. This stone carver, turned sculptor has chiseled rock and shaped metal for over 30 years. And from this rock & steel has emerged public sculptures - as heavy as 40,000 pounds of marble - at the entrances to museums, hospitals, parks, university campuses and corporations throughout the United States and Europe. Though experiencing the physical strain of his strenuous lifework, the artist carries on with the zeal of a novice. He recently completed a 38-foot wall relief for the city of North Wilkesboro, NC, and is shortly beginning a fountain for a large development in Pompano Beach, FL. Some mornings, however, a morning aspirin just doesn't do the trick. So several years back, having mastered the art of sculpture, this seeker added oil painting to his repertoire. And for several years now, his boldly evocative oils have garnered acclaim by some of the nation's most savvy galleries and collectors.
Alternately admired,
envied, adored, misunderstood; Wayne Trapp has lived an authentic
life of artistic zeal and exploration - without apology.
And so it is - that once a week - the man whose work is art, whose
passion is art, and whose painful physicality is due to his art,
plays at art! In the confines of his studio - an atmospheric space
designed and built by the artist; Trapp loads the cd player, lights
incense, smokes a cigarette and awaits his model - someone who
perhaps he's met only the day before. A keen observer and perpetual
student, he studies her movements from the moment she enters the
studio. Within 10 seconds he knows if she is the muse who will
generate the magic.
Imagine the artist with a stack of sketch paper, charcoal in hand, completing sketch after sketch. While Trapp appreciates her beauty, it is the gesture that most inspires. Hours go by like minutes and stacks of sketches emerge. At evening's end, if one line or one shadow works perfectly, he is content. Though exhausted as a child after a day of vigorous play, his life is once again balanced. Trapp is renewed for the physical labors of the days ahead.
Artistically speaking, an artist's sketches are his most personal expression. For the ability to draw is at the core of artistic creation. In fact, some gallery directors will not even look at an artist's paintings until they have seen their drawings. And though an abstractionist in his oil paintings, Trapp is elegantly representational in his life drawings. They are exquisite. However, these sensitive renderings have, thus far, collected dust in his studio. That is, until now.
After a visit to Trapp's studio, Judi and Kevin Beck - owners of Capehart Beck, the Upstairs Gallery - invited him to display and sell this rarely seen artwork. These are considered an important collection by one of the country's premier artists.
For further information
check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at
828/295-6367 or at (www.capehartbeckgallery.com).
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