May Issue 2002
Nina Liu and Friends in Charleston, SC, Hosts Exhibit - The Food Show
Banana Cream Dream, Cynthia
Tollefsrud
The Food Show, a lush, colorful, and whimsical exhibition of paintings opens at Nina Liu and Friends in Charleston, SC, May 3. The exhibition, featuring works by Cynthia Tollefsrud and Lisa-Marie Rousseau, will continue through June 15, 2002.
Lisa-Marie
Rousseau
The painters behind The Food Show, Cynthia Tollefsrud and Lisa-Marie Rousseau, are also sisters-in-law. Having painting in common has provided food for thought and conversation from the beginning of their friendship. "We love to talk about what paintings we are currently working on and the entire absorbing, often wacky process of making art", says Rousseau. Tollefsrud agrees. "Who else but another artist can appreciate how maddening it is to paint all those feathers on a chicken?"
They conceived The Food Show over margaritas at a corner bar in Omaha, NE, during a family reunion. Rousseau, a longtime creator of vividly-colored fruit and vegetable still-lifes, shared her fantasy of an exhibition divided into beverages, appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Tollefsrud was immediately enthusiastic, embellishing Rousseau's ideas and coming up with more of her own. The artists had always wanted to show their work together and this seemed to provide the perfect opportunity.
Rousseau and Tollefsrud have different backgrounds and artistic styles. Rousseau uses the touch and contrasting texture of bold, luscious strokes of oil paint to describe her subjects. Tollefsrud prefers smoother, more controlled brushwork for her whimsical paintings. Liberal use of strong color is important to both artists.
Lisa-Marie Rousseau
Lisa-Marie Rousseau grew up in a family of classical musicians in Bloomington, IN, surrounded by music, interesting people and good food. Rousseau herself studied piano as a girl and benefited greatly from her family's cross-county and cross-Atlantic travels.
Rousseau graduated cum laude from Minnesota's Carleton College then went on to get an MFA in painting from Indiana University. She was on the faculty of the University of Kansas' Fine Arts Department; artist-in-residence at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston; and has taught at several institutions, including the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Rousseau's paintings are in collections throughout the US as well as Japan, England and Canada. She has also had exhibitions of her work in the Midwest, Texas, Georgia, and New York.
Rousseau currently lives and works in Minneapolis, MN, and has this to say about her work: "Painting at its best is a transforming experience and, for me, closer to poetry than prose. I find it a mystery why a shaft of sunlight illuminating my breakfast can move me, can provoke thoughts, feelings, and memories that I cannot explain in words. I paint not only to communicate what I know but to discover what I don't know. I'm interested in the ways light transforms almost anything it touches; in color, form, taste, touch and sound; in the way our sensual experience of the world engages us emotionally and intellectually. My visceral response to the way light refracts through wine or the color of raspberries moves me to attempt to translate my experience.
I paint because it is through the rich medium of oil paint - with its sumptuous color and rich, butter-like consistency - that I find connections to my experience of the world. I get my ideas two ways: visual events I feel compelled to re-experience and record and by ideas that pop into my head and remain there until I paint them."
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Tart of Tarts --------------------------------------- Only
16 Grams of Fat Per Serving
Cynthia Tollefsrud
Cynthia Tollefsrud also grew up in the Midwest. She believes that the hours of creative play she enjoyed during her childhood continue to influence her waggish, fanciful paintings - particularly the puppet shows complete with sets and costumes she and her family produced. She also knows childhood adventures at her grandparents' farm in southeastern Minnesota continue to influence her work.
Bacon and Eggs, (Tollefsrud)
Tollefsrud has studied drawing, painting, and printmaking at Wayne State College and the University of Tennessee but considers herself self-taught. She grew up drawing and painting, and wanted to be an artist from her first John Gnagy drawing set at age ten. Tollefsrud draws inspiration from her large collection of art books, particularly the Flemish masters, and believes she obtained ballast - and a cynical edge - from 19 years as an illustrator and creative director in department store advertising.
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Milk and Cookies ----------------------------------------------------------------
Courtesan of Kumquats
Cynthia Tollefsrud
Tollefsrud's work has been shown at Nina Liu and Friends in Charleston, SC; SOHO Gallery in Pensacola FL; and Hansen Gallery in Knoxville, TN. Her work has been included in exhibitions at the Caroll Reece Museum, the Hunter Museum of Art, and the Association of Visual Artists Traveling Invitational that toured Russia. Tollefsrud's paintings are also in collections throughout the US.
Tollefsrud currently lives and works in Knoxville, TN. She says her collection of 20th century black and white photographs often act as a catalyst for her imagination, allowing her to weave stories about characters that then wind up on her canvases.
Today's Special: Ground Chuck
Cynthia Tollefsrud
Both artists are enthusiastic about the process of working on The Food Show. "Working with Cynthia on such a delicious subject has been wonderful", says Rousseau. "Cynthia is fun, creative, and easy to collaborate with. I am ridiculously enthusiastic and passionate about both good food and painting. I hope people enjoy looking at the show as much as we have enjoyed painting it. I would be delighted if viewers became hungry after looking at my work". Tollefsrud agrees, although she seems dubious her piece Today's Special: Ground Chuck will inspire hunger. "I kept thinking about PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) as I was working on it. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy a good burger every once in a while. But I often wonder what those cows are thinking as they peacefully chew their cud in the pasture. My work is serene and whimsical but I do enjoy adding a little twist. I often find myself smiling while working my paintings."
For more information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings or call the gallery at 843/722-2724.
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