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March Issue 2003
Grace Li Wang Art Gallery in Raleigh, NC, Features Exhibition of Contemporary Portraits
The Grace Li Wang Art Gallery in Raleigh, NC, is presenting the exhibition, Diverse Portraits, on view through Mar. 31, 2003. The exhibit shows contemporary portraits in various mixed media works by Trena McNabb, Meredith Steele, Gary Palmer, and Grace Li Wang.
The art of Trena McNabb is a curious and elegant synthesis of realism and imagination. She takes the art of portraits to a new level by applying her unique technique of story telling through colorful and transparent, painted montages. The near life-size graphite representation of the subject on raw canvas predominates the painting, starkly contrasting the multi-colored transparent images that tell the "life story" of the subject. This colorful kaleidoscope of images depicts objects associated with the subject's work, interests, passions to convey a complete picture of the individual.
McNabb lives near Winston Salem, NC, and is well known for her large site-specific paintings of allegorical scenes, uniting stylized shapes with her own harmonious concept of beauty. Her work ranges from 20' long multicanvas, site-specific corporate or public art commissions to small, elegant pieces for private residences and now these relatively new "life" portraits.
Meredith Steele's paintings were recently described as rich, colorful paintings of everyday objects juxtaposed against one another or against seemingly unrelated scenes and people. She is also interested in consumer culture and the notion that the things we purchase characterize us on a variety of levels. With this most recent body of work, Steele juxtaposes these seemingly mundane objects together in a single panel. She employs bright, inventive color while rendering the subjects using mixed media techniques of acrylics, oils, and collage. Steele lives in Raleigh where she keeps a studio filled with sock monkeys, candy wrappers, and other inspiration for her work.
Gary Palmer was born in Northern Ireland and educated at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He spent his early years traveling the world etching out his paintings on city streets in the ephemeral medium of chalk. Palmer has been commissioned to do street paintings by festivals in Canada, Australia, Europe, and the US. His anemographic perspectives and circular mandalas have become known around the world. In 1996, Palmer published a book titled, "A Carpet of Dream," which recorded his streetwork and travels. He now resides and paints at a monastic retreat close to the border to Mexico. He was the showcased artist at the Raleigh Street Painting Festival in Fall 2002.
Grace Li Wang's contemporary portraits and figurative paintings of nude studies are known for their unique and stylized forms and colors. The medium are oil and mixed media on paper. Her work has been exhibited and collected by private and public sectors locally and internationally.
For more information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 919/871-5800 or on the web at (www.graceliwang.com).
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