August 2011

Hillsborough Gallery of Arts Offers Works by Eric Saunders, O’Neal Jones, and Eduardo Lapetina

The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts in Hillsborough, NC, will present the exhibit, Harmonies, featuring photography by Eric Saunders, furniture by O’Neal Jones, and paintings by Eduardo Lapetina, on view from Aug. 26 through Sept. 25, 2011. A reception will be held on Aug. 26, from 6-9pm.

Woodworker O’Neal Jones says his first concern is always to design and build his pieces with the material in mind.

“Wood is a beautiful, constantly expanding and contracting material that, when put together well, will last for many generations,” says Jones, whose work ranges from highly original and beautifully crafted furniture to standing screens and wall-hung mirrors. “My work with shoji, or translucent paper panels, has expanded over the least three decades into moveable walls in the home, moveable window coverings, lighting covers, free standing room dividers, sliding doors on furniture, and wall hangings,” Jones notes, adding “newer to my shoji work are themes of music and its written notation. The simple musical staff forms a natural shoji frame with familiar melodies dancing along its path.” 

Eduardo Lapetina has developed a unique abstract painting style that he uses to communicate his inner landscape. “My aim,” he says, “is to use symbolic shapes and colors to express my deepest emotions and passion for life. This leads me to apply paint to the canvas in unusual ways - by pouring, splashing, dripping, and scratching.”

Lapetina says his paintings require layers upon layers of paint to create a sensuous and turbulent surface. As he works, he both hides and discloses the layers. He adds, “my paintings also require something from the viewer; they demand contemplation, feeling, and flights of fancy.”

Photographer Eric Saunders prefers nature as his subject, but he says, “I try to find a specific composition that creates its own order based on the elements that I see within the viewfinder (colors, patterns, textures, lighting). Thus each of my images, although it may contain similar subject material, is unique.”

Saunders says he finds inspiration in the calm that he feels when he reacts to landscapes as abstract lines, shapes, colors, and textures, which he groups into a visual experience for the viewer. Says Saunders, “in the case of photography, it’s especially important to acknowledge this visual experience because photography has traditionally been associated with the literal or documentary, rather than the ‘painterly’ or artistic.”

An art gallery owned and operated by 22 local artists, the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts represents established artists exhibiting contemporary fine art and fine craft. The gallery’s offerings include painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, fiber, jewelry, glass, metal, encaustic, enamel, watercolor, and wood.

For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 919-732-5001 or visit (www.HillsboroughGallery.com).

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