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August Issue 2004
Gallery 9 Near Banner Elk, NC, Offers Works by Wayne Trapp
In a man's soul there exists a thirst for all
that is beauty and for that which brings rapture. For celebrated
artist Wayne Trapp, beauty and rapture are inherent primal needs
and life itself is an elevated art form. Trapp's recent paintings
and sculpture will bear testimony to his prodigious nature as
Gallery 9 near Banner Elk, NC, celebrates the month of Aug., 2004
with his works.
Here is a man who lives within the timbers he's raised, walks
upon the planks he's laid, and gazes outward toward the plants
he's seeded. This essential drive to spawn has led to a lifetime
of contemplating, coaxing, and creating a multitude of sculptures.
How many tons of stone and sheets of steel have felt the touch
of this man's hand, one might wonder. And as if stone and steel
weren't enough to satisfy, brush and canvas just might.
The year 2004 has been a prolific one for Trapp, with monumental sculpture installations completed in Florida, Ohio, Charlotte, and Atlanta; and one man shows spanning the year along with ongoing representation at six notable galleries across the southeast.
In this collection, Trapp will present recent works in stone and metal created simultaneously with abstractions on canvas. Pedestal pieces in marble, bronze and aberlene reflect the incongruous feat of a chisel creating soft curves and gentle undulations. Like an alien's alphabet, these forms express the hidden and melodic language found deep within raw, quarried stone and the heart of the artist.
Gentle Breeze, a 22" bronze, is perhaps the most literal piece in the group. An exquisite patina of mottled greens, grays, and browns covers what appears to be a mast connected to a sail highlighted by highly polished strips of bronze. Midnight Jig, a 25" playful, dancing form in Virginia aberlene, is presented on a rotating bronze pedestal inviting the viewer to take a spin. Warrior's Shrine, a 32" laminated, tri-colored marble piece pays homage to traditional Japanese form so prevalent in Trapp's work. Runic Poem, a 26" curvaceous work in pink marble, offers an amorphous shape open to interpretation.
Trapp's oils nearly dance off the canvas in bold, primary colors. Depth and texture are created as the artist applies brushwork in layer upon layer, scraping with a palette knife to reveal underlying hues. Overall figuration turns into visual messages that seem to beat rapidly in primitive song.
In Trapp's oil The Moon was Chasing the Sun, we see an evening unfolding beyond the confines of the artist's studio. Trapp unabashedly admits to the primal urge to howl and create under a full moon. Summer Boogie Woogie is a hip-hop thrust of blues, reds, and oranges leaping upward on the canvas; nothing sedentary about this piece. Incantation II, a formidable 60" x 48" canvas, has a spell binding effect as seemingly dark wings attempt flight from mirrored arch shaped forms in brilliant reds and oranges.
For more information check our NC Commercial Gallery listing, call the gallery at 828/963-6068, e-mail at (gallery9@skybest.com), or visit our website at (www.gallery9.com).
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