The Back Room Gallery at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild in St. Johnsbury presents Color Moves, an exhibition of Karen Dawson's oil and acrylic paintings. On view from March 9 through April 26, these spirited, energy-filled images give new meaning to "landscape painting." The subjects are familiar local scenes, far away places, and intimate close ups of the natural world, interpreted in vibrant color and lively forms.There will be an artist's reception on Saturday, March 13 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. The public is invited.
Karen Dawson says "Color leaves language and theory in the dust! Color is arresting when it is right."
She credits her mother, an art teacher, for her wonderful color observation and color use. She says, "a little bit of all colors in every color became part of the fabric."
Dawson lives and works in Burlington, and exhibits throughout Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire She says, "for the last 18 years I have been operating a visual art studio in the Lakeside Neighborhood, in Burlington, Vermont, with 30 to 50 paintings in the works at any given time. During the warm months I paint outdoors. Studio refinement takes place in the winter, and in the run-up to exhibitions! I wish to 'be the kind of person on whom nothing is lost,' as John Keats once advised. Everything feeds my art, not the least of which are the 4 art classes a week I have been facilitating at the local correctional center since 1998. Through all of my work I hope to promote empathy, and a world view in which entropy and emergence can coexist; and most of all, HOPE. We need an injection of sanity into our lives, and art can do that for us all.
Among her favorite artists are Emily Carr, Wayne Thibaud, Friedenreich Hundertwasser, and Frank Gehry.
The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild, 430 Railroad St., St. Johnsbury VT 05819
802-748-0158 www.nekartisansguild.com
Open Monday - Saturday, 10:30 am - 5:30 pm
Image: Yesterday at Lake Willoughby, oil on canvas, 2010
