Works by Patricia Bellan-Gillen and Jessica Bloch-Schulman blur lines between fact and fiction.
An opening reception in honor of the museum’s new exhibits was held on Friday, August 9, at the museum. The exhibits will be on display from August 10 to Oct. 26. Exhibits at Piedmont Arts are always free and open to the public.
In the Hooker Gallery, “History, Legends, and Fairytales,” by Patricia Bellan-Gillen will be on display. These larger-than-life works utilize the most intricate line drawings, collage, and other mediums to create enveloping and immersive experiences for the viewer. The drawings combine imagery generated through reading and study with imagery that is personal and intuitive. In the artist’s own words, “Sacred imagery moves about in the temporal lobe with iconic characters from children’s stories and recent news flashes picked from the internet join the sagas of black and white television. My mixed media drawings and collages use these bits and pieces of visual history…the stones and bones of memory… to suggest a narrative and to engage the viewer’s associative responses.” Bellan-Gillen was born in Beaver Falls, PA and lives and works in rural Washington County, Pennsylvania adjacent to the West Virginia border. She is a retired and award-winning educator from Carnegie Mellon University where she held the Dorothy L. Stubnitz Endowed Chair.
“Lingering: Contemplations,” by Jessica Bloch-Schulman will be featured in the Pannill gallery. This collection of ceramic sculptures uses the female form in juxtaposition with abstractions and dreamlike components. While exploring deeply personal experiences to create psychological self-portraits, the pieces are rooted in universal themes and emotions. “I am interested in how our memories are stored; the neural pathways and chemical interactions that write the invisible maps of our emotional lives,” Bloch-Schulman says. “The symbols and markings on my figures form a kind of legend, alluding to milestones or meaningful events that would otherwise remain concealed. Overall, these pieces invite the viewer to linger, to feel something familiar, and to consider the shapes of the stories that persist in our minds.” Bloch-Schulman is a figurative ceramic sculptor living in Greensboro, NC
The Lynwood Artists Gallery will feature “A Life in the Blue Ridge by Paula Melton. Melton is a watercolor artist who uses her medium to explore the beauty of living in the mountains. The Lynwood Artists Gallery is curated by Lynwood Artists, an organization for practicing artists in the Martinsville-Henry County area. Its members share a desire to stimulate understanding and enjoyment of fine art and the artistic process, while providing area artists with opportunities to exhibit and further develop their talents.
The opening reception and exhibits are sponsored by Page and Ben Beeler, Cindy and Steve Edgerton, Robert Harder, Lynn and John Korff, Nancy and Henry Moore, Susan and David Morris, and Lynwood Artists.
The opening reception is free and open to the public. Complimentary wine and light refreshments will be served. For more information, visit PiedmontArts.org.
