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July Issue 2004
Cool Intentions at Somerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill, NC
Alex Wilhite
Somerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill, NC announces a five-person exhibition titled Cool Intentions. The exhibition will feature artwork of a systemic, methodical, or meditative geometric nature. The exhibition will be on display from July 16 through August 20 and features artists Patti Parsons, Jerome Hershey, Alex Wilhite, Ann Conner, and Paul Aho.
Throughout this exhibition, Somerhill Gallery will also be featuring a large collection of stunning one-of-a-kind mouth-blown martini glasses by over 15 artists.
Somerhill Gallery Director Joseph Rowand recently commented, "This is a time when an exhibition suggested itself. I saw emerging similar mindsets on the Somerhill horizon. My job is to recognize the emergence and promote it."
Ann Conner is a nationally acclaimed artist best known for her seductive and formally challenging color woodblock prints. Her distinctive prints are exhibited at the International Print Center, New York; Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery, Yokohama, Japan; Chicago Cultural Center; Flatbed Press Gallery, Austin, TX and the Federal Reserve Bank Gallery in Boston. Her works are also shown in permanent collections at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; New York Public Library; Fogg Art Museum; Harvard University; The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; and Credit Suisse First Boston in London.
Alex Wilhite's years of traveling the world have inspired a deep understanding of the visual world. His high, strong colors define outlines and create a dynamic energy; strong contrasts are involved in his paintings, as he develops vibrating, multi-dimensional forms. As a deaf artist with a cochlear implant, he is deeply interested in combining hard-edge paintings of his interpretation of sound with flowing optical colors to create action. Wilhite earned an M.F.A from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, in 1990 studying under Richard Bove and Ted Kurahara. He received his B.F.A. from the University of North Alabama in Florence. He has exhibited in New York, California, South Florida, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Germany, Japan, and Belgium.
Patti Parson's mixed media artwork on aluminum goes through a series of processes to reach the perfected final piece. She begins with an acrylic gel primer, then she writes and draws with a China marker. Next she puts down layers of acrylic and removes the wet paint with water, fingers, sticks, and wiping. Once dry she sands with a fine paper. This process continues until the painting feels complete. Parson's artwork is based on many different numbering systems, she incorporates different counting systems, Fibonacci numbers, and squaring. Her work is included in a number of public and private collections including, City of Tempe Municipal Arts Collection, Shemer Art Center, and Nordstrom.
A native of Millersville, PA, Jerome Hershey earned a B.F.A. degree in painting from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia in 1972. His renowned abstract paintings grew from a background in color theory and geometric color system painting in the 1970's. In his art Hershey has portrayed a diverse range of personal themes (birth, family, life and death). His work has been featured at the New England School of Design, Boston; the Philadelphia Art Alliance; and the Charles Demuth Museumin in Lancaster.
In Paul Aho's abstract acrylic paintings, layers upon layers of vibrant colors are applied to a wood panel to become rich, radiant surfaces. His colors participate with one another in a way that truly reflects a masterful understanding of the delicate balance needed to create an intense visual dynamic which seizes the viewer. His work can be found in many private and public collections including the Colonial Bank Corporate Collection, Florida Art in State Buildings Program, Boca Raton Museum of Art, and the Wachovia corporate collection.
For more information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 919/968-8868, email to (Somerhill@mindspring.com), or on the web at (www.somerhill.com).
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