Carolyn Miles, Owner/Director of Atrium Gallery on McPherson, invited me to view her latest exhibition, "Red," Saturday morning. Jim and I had other commitments when the exhibition opened February 17, so viewing the pieces on my own, with Carolyn as my guide, was a special treat.
Carolyn told me that over her 25 years as a gallery owner—first at the Old Post Office, then in Clayton, followed by two locations on McPherson–she has recognized that people gravitate toward the color red. So she decided to put together a show using paintings and drawings from her stable of artists where "red" is either the dominant feature, or is used as an accent in the piece, and see what happened. The experiment worked and the response has been even better than she imagined.
Kirk Pedersen's photograph "Red Wall II, Dalian, China" is at the center of the group of works shown above. This is a photograph you need to view up close to appreciate the vibrant color, which has not been digitally enhanced. The image is so realistic that bits of paper look as if they are peeling right off the photograph. As Carolyn explained: "the artist exposes us to the beauty in graffiti and deterioration."
Steven Sorman's piece "next to this," above, which has some printmaking aspects, has a brilliant red element that pulls you in. Sorman's art is in the collections of the St. Louis Art Museum, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University, and MoMA in New York.
Photo courtesy of Atrium Gallery
Fredrick Nelson, a local artist with a loyal following who teaches art at MICDS, has a wonderful pastel drawing, "Exodus 2012," in Atrium's window.
Katy Stone's dramatic acrylic on Dura-lar "Red Fall II" is 92" x 23" x 5," left and below.
This is just a small sampling of the pieces currently on view at Atrium, 4728 McPherson. Be sure to get over to the gallery to see how you react to these vibrant pieces before the exhibition closes on April 14. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
An interesting footnote to Atrium's draw: Last fall Carolyn Miles was approached by the "Affordable Art Fair" to bring works from her stable of women artists to the inaugural AAF event in Los Angeles. (The event has also been staged in New York for several years). Atrium was one of eight art galleries to participate in the "artxwomen" exhibition. Carolyn brought 66 works to Los Angeles, which drew dealers from Russia, Australia and New York. The photo above shows Atrium's booth at the event.