January 2014

Theatre Art Galleries in High Point, NC, Offers New Exhibits for Winter

Theatre Art Galleries in High Point, NC, will present four new exhibits including: an exhibition of works by Murry Handler, on view in the Main Gallery; an exhibition of works by Jean Cauthen, Kate Worm, and Stephen Brooks, on view in Gallery B; HEALING SEEKERS: A Photography Exhibit, on view in the Hallway Gallery; and the Annual Middle School Art Exhibition featuring works of art by many of Guilford County’s Middle school artists, on view in the Kaleidoscope Gallery. The exhibits will be on view from Jan. 16 through Mar. 21, 2014. A reception will be held on Jan. 16, from 5:30-7:30pm.

Nationally recognized artist Murry Handler lives in Pittsboro, NC, but his extensive training in art began in NYC where he studied at The Franklin Institute of Art, figure drawing with Joseph Kelly at Pratt Institute, and painting at the Workshop School under the late Joe Hirsh. Handler’s professional career as an illustrator also includes serving as an art director, graphic designer, adjunct instructor at The Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design, and owner of a 14 person advertising art studio.

Handler’s works are primarily abstract and minimalistic with a preference for a palette of black and white. His work demonstrates sweeping brushstrokes that convey a strong sense of movement. He states, “Many paintings take shape while I am semi-asleep. When I awake, the painting is usually close to being finished. Then I go into the studio and put my ideas on canvas or paper. The brush and flow find their way onto the surface. Mistakes or accidents often turn out to be fortuitous and usually remain. No matter how many paintings I have completed, every painting is still an experiment to me. I don’t want to know how my painting will end. I want the surprise of finding the end, sometimes quite by accident.”

Gallery B will feature works by Jean Cauthen, Kate Worm, and Stephen Brooks. Cauthen grew up in Italy, New Orleans and the Carolinas. Every year she returns to Italy to capture images of vineyards or the cityscapes of Venice and Rome. She is also inspired by the interior scenes found in wooded areas that bring back memories of childhood play. Themes of movement through space and memory are reflected with the use of subtle layers to reveal a sense history or narrative.

Cauthen is an internationally award winning artist and is currently the Artist in Residence at the Levine Cancer Institute where she creates artworks with patients during their Chemotherapy.

Kate Worm is an artist inspired by the natural environment, particularly the wooded interiors near her home in NC. She paints landscapes with oil, but uses watercolor and gouache for figure work. Worm’s approach with both media is a radical departure from traditional painting because she uses printmaking rollers, syringes, and eyedroppers to apply the paint.

When speaking of the process of her work Worm states, “I want to keep the process a bit reckless which allows the painting to have a life of its own. Sometimes I draw into the paint with graphite; often I scrape the day’s work off the canvas. After months of work and drying time, I consider the painting ready to frame, but I seldom feel the work is ‘finished’. The idea is suggested, filled out to some degree, but never complete.”

Worm is a Signature Member of the NWS and WSNC. In addition to maintaining a studio she works part-time as the Collections Curator at the Hickory Museum of Art.

Stephen Brooks is a painter inspired by nature and the forests blanketing North Carolina. He is not interested in making his paintings look realistic and would rather his paintings be an expression of his visual ideas. He states that, “Traces of the space, light, textures and sounds I experience when walking through a forest are integrated into the work. If musicians and poets have “muses”, then the forest plays that role when I work.”

The cycles of growth, death, and decay are similar to the processes Brooks uses to create a work. He may build up and then break down a painting until he is satisfied with it. “The result is an image that defines a singular experience. For me, painting is where vision, thought and activity collide, imperfect, but candid in concept and execution.”

The Hallway Gallery will feature HEALING SEEKERS: A Photography Exhibit. Healing Seekers is an educational resource whose primary focus is providing video content material and resources for school systems, educational venues, and the general public. The Healing Seekers Team explores off-the-beaten path locales such as the Amazon, Andes, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea. Treks are extensively filmed, which allows for fascinating educational videos and webisodes to be created. These materials complement school curriculums and encompass realms such as biology, physiology, ecology, geography, social studies, and so on. The results of these explorations are fascinating stories of life, amazing discoveries of the interconnectedness of life and how medical treatments and therapies arise from some of the most surprising places. This exhibit will feature a selection of stunning photographs from some of the most remote areas of the world.

The Kaleidoscope Gallery will host the Annual Middle School Art Exhibition featuring works of art by many of Guilford County’s Middle school artists. Participating schools are High Point Christian Academy, Mendenhall Middle School, Penn Griffin School for the Arts, Southwest Middle School, Thomasville Middle School, Wesleyan Education Center, and Westchester Country Day School.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call TAG at 336/887-2137 or visit (www.tagart.org).

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