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February Issue
2008
Somerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill, NC, Features Works by Lydia Thompson and Michael Barringer
Somerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill, NC, is presenting ceramic sculpture and works on paper by Lydia Thompson and paintings on canvas by Michael Barringer, on view through Feb. 16, 2008.
Lydia Thompson
As one of the foremost contemporary African American artists today, Lydia Thompson approaches the culture of her ancestors with a modern eye. She creates striking images with vibrant color that comment on experience and history.
After finishing her Masters degree at New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1985, Thompson received a Fulbright Hayes grant to research adobe art and architecture in Nigeria. She adopted elements of African art into her own pieces. "I create visual metaphors by combining Western, and non-Western architecture and utilitarian objects," Lydia says. "I want my work to evoke emotions about how humanity defines itself cross-culturally."
Thompson is currently assistant professor of ceramics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work was recently featured in 4 Women in Clay at the Museum of Art and Design in Raleigh, NC. Her sculpture is also in their permanent collection. She has had solo exhibitions at galleries in Virginia, Louisiana, Ohio, New Mexico, New Jersey, Washington, DC, New York, and Nigeria. In 2006, Thompson received a faculty grant to conduct research at the Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark in July, 2007. She received the Bronze Award for 3 dimensional and digital work in New York City in 1999.
Michael Barringer
Michael Barringer's paintings contain multiple layers of pastel, acrylic paints evolving into transparent patinas creating depth and richness. The ground layers and colors are translucent under the layered surface, as if the viewer is given a secret glimpse into the evolution of the piece. "I worked and layered the surface to suggest an accumulation of life, and the passage of time," he says. Barringer's paintings contain symbols and drawings embedded in the surface and laying on top of the canvas surface. "Resembling tattoos or organic transfers, these markings are my attempt to codify a certain impulse, the ancient impulse to capture thought in a visual sign," says Barringer in his artist statement.
Barringer received his Bachelors degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987. He is represented in galleries in Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina. He has shown in galleries in New York, Illinois, Louisiana, Alabama, and his artwork is featured in public collections throughout the United States. Recently Somerhill Gallery placed Barringer's work at the new Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dallas, TX.
For further information check our NC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 919/968-8868 or visit (www.somerhill.com).
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