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December Issue 2003
I. Pinckney Simons in Columbia, SC, Features Works by Wanda Steppe
Upon entering the I. Pinckney Simons Gallery in the Congaree Vista area of Columbia, SC, one is instantly captivated by the paintings of Wanda Steppe. Large oil on canvas works entitled Red Chasm and Gap are placed prominently in the window and invite the viewer to enter Steppe's world of imagined landscapes. Both paintings feature a lone tree set on the precipice of a large, dark chasm in the earth's surface and are set against a reddish, pink sky of either dusk or dawn. Steppe's new works will be on view through Dec. 20, 2003.
Steppe is represented
throughout the gallery through both large and small oil on canvas
pieces as well as oil on panel triptychs and icons. Landscapes
of sparse vegetation with single tree imagery coupled with richly
colored skyscapes are characteristic of her work. They invoke
a feeling of the surreal and intrigue the imagination. She
creates skies of lavenders and pinks, bright blue skies, and even
green skies. Sometimes she creates darker landscapes with
ominous clouds that introduce the element of the sublime into
her body of work. In the multiple panel pieces, usually triptychs,
each panel represents the passage of time- past, present, and
future.
Since an illness in 1995, Steppe's work has become increasingly
autobiographical. "One series of paintings entitled Dark
Nights of the Soul is part of my attempt to make art as part
of the healing process," Steppe explains. "After
a devastating diagnosis and intense recovery period, I began to
make art that expressed rather than repressed the fear I felt
during this time. I soon found it to have a very healing
effect."
Although her works are autobiographical, they equally embrace universal themes. The paintings of Steppe relate to the human psyche on a basic level causing people to be intuitively drawn to her work. Vulnerability to the progression of time, the fear of the uncertainties of life as well as the fear of death are all part of the human experience. Also addressed in her artwork is the positive aspect of the survival of the human spirit when faced with adversity. This is captured in her paintings through her tree imagery as they stand alone struggling to survive. But even though the trees are weather-worn, they have extensive root systems and will survive, just as Wanda Steppe herself survived. The artist views her paintings as essentially self portraits, believing that "the dark times in life are to be experienced, not ignored, because these are the experiences that build character to make us what we become."
Steppe received her
education at Winthrop University as well as the Greenville County
Museum School of Art. Her paintings have been featured in
invitational group exhibitions throughout the Southeast. Her works
were represented in the selected group showing at the South Carolina
State Museum titled Triennial 2001. Steppe's paintings
are collected by the South Carolina Arts Commission and major
collectors of southern arts throughout the southeast.
For more info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call
the gallery at 803/771-8815 or e-mail to (simonsgallery@aol.com).
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