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August Issue 2004
Charleston Art Gallery & Portrait Studio in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Kelly Garst
"I want people to leave my work feeling
inspired and with a new awareness of what a powerful component
art is to life," says Kelly Garst of Seattle, WA, visiting
artist at Charleston Art Gallery & Portrait Studio in Charleston,
SC, through Aug. 31, 2004.
The emerging artist describes the figures in
her work as "in our dreams." They are more clearly felt
than seen," says Garst. "They are shrouded in misted
landscapes and reaching with an urgency that we relate to without
fully understanding." Inspired by what she calls "a
sort of split second dream or vision," Garst translated her
vision of figures tumbling though an ancient structure or monument
to create, Structure, an acrylic on canvas. The repeated
element of abstract figures creates a rhythmic pattern of its
own, adding to the sense of energy and excitement of the entire
image.
Intrigued by the physical effects of time and the elements, Garst
reenacts this process in her own work by wearing away and rebuilding
the surfaces of her art. She is a graduate of Cornish College
of the Arts in Seattle. She also studied at the Atlanta College
of Art and the Heatherley School of Art in London. An emerging
artist, Garst has participated in a variety of solo and group
shows near her home in Seattle.
Of the opportunity to study in London for two years, Garst says,
"it opened my eyes to many different cultures, and to time.
Ancient and timeless ideas of emotion and sensuality. I strive
to recreate these ideas in the hopes of reaching something universal."
Her artwork, she says, has been influenced by Cirque du Soleil,
hieroglyphics, ancient East Indian relief sculpture, Julian Schnable,
Henri Matisse, and music by Philip Glass. "I am attracted
to ancient stories and ideas relating to time and the elements,"
she says.
Garst also cites Georgia O'Keeffe as a role model because "painting
was her first priority." Other artists who she says have
influenced her growth are Henri Rousseau, Wassily Kandinksy, Paul
Klee, Giorgio de Chirico, Frida Kahlo and Alberto Giacometti.
The Catcher,
another acrylic on canvas, was created when overwhelmed by the
crazy pace of her own life. Garst found a visual metaphor for
"flying high without a net" while watching the circus
drama of Cirque du Soleil. She created The Catcher as a
tribute to the drama of that moment, and depicted the audience
as an abstract mass below the two acrobats. The linked hands are
directly above the central triangular point of the audience, as
if willing your eye to seek out that crucial spot in the image.
For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 843/724-3424, e-mail at (CCoth444@aol.com)
or at (www.charlestonartgallery.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.