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November Issue
2010
Corrigan Gallery in Charleston, SC,
Features Works by Lese Corrigan
The
Corrigan Gallery in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit,
Other Side of the River, featuring new works by Lese Corrigan,
on view from Nov. 3 - 27, 2010, as part of the Charleston Fine
Art Dealers' Association's Charleston Fine Art Annual.
Corrigan's series views the peninsula of Charleston from the opposite bank of the Cooper River. The simplicity of the skyline silhouetted against the large skies of the Lowcountry provides perfect threshold for the artist's love of sky and water. As a child, she was fascinated looking out over the Charleston harbor watching the light fracture.
Continuing to integrate the symbolic layers of meaning in her 2008 show entitled Mid-River, in this show Corrigan places the viewer looking out from the opposite bank of the river studying the skyline of the Charleston peninsular seeking the landmarks and an understanding of their relationship to the sky and water. This provides a new perspective, one in which moving away allows us to see more clearly and realize our part in the big picture, although small, is still a part of the whole. The magic of the constant movement of water and air manifested on the ionic level continues to be apparent in Corrigan's post-impressionistic and certainly expressionistic work.
This new group of paintings references the evolution to the next stage of life in crossing the river whereas Corrigan's last body of work showed the liminal state - that most prolonged state in life's path where the individual is "neither here nor there." The Other Side of the River is clearly a here not there position although the crossing could be the journey into the unconscious realm that the water and clouds have symbolized from the beginning. Striving to "Embed thoughts" in paint with strokes "imbued with life" (Jerry Saltz, Hokusai) - the history, the lives, the energy of a city at the ocean's edge where two rivers converge to create a unique location (and so told the Atlantic Ocean!). The series will be presented as a complete visual of the peninsular from left to right around the gallery space such that by the peninsula surrounds you as you are enveloped in sky and water.
This native Charlestonian's work is in private collections around the world and in public collections such as the MUSC Contemporary Collection in the ART, MUSC general collection and the Gibbes Museum of Art Study Collection. Corrigan is the 2010 recipient of the Martha Ingram Rivers' award for excellence in art from Ashley Hall. Her work has been featured on numerous race posters and the cover of Susan Meyers' Keep and Give Away book of poetry. Featured in a movie short by Roz Smith in 2005, the film explores Corrigan's painting process. She has been entrenched in the art scene as a practicing artist since her return to the city from an extended time in Europe twenty four years ago.
Corrigan Gallery, now in its sixth year, is a culmination of years of experience in the Charleston art market. The gallery represents more than a dozen artists in an intimate space and presents 6 to 10 shows per year with the gallery being refreshed every month. Visiting artists are included in the yearly roster with most of the artists either being Charleston natives or individuals living in Charleston. A gallery of contemporary works exploring the depth and intellect behind the drive to create, Corrigan Gallery provides a breathing space around the historic city's traditional bent. Daily works are shown by Manning Williams, John Hull, Mary Walker, Kristi Ryba, Lynne Riding, John Moore, Gordon Nicholson, Sue Simons Wallace, Kevin Bruce Parent, Daphne vom Baur, Paul Mardikian, Max Miller, Michael Slattery, Tim Fensch and recently added artist Joe Walters.
For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call 843/722-9868 or visit (www.corrigangallery.com).
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