The Black Spring by Sally French at galerie 103 in Kukui`ula Village, Poi`pu      [  v i e w   e x h i b i t  ]

 

GALERIE 103 presents The Black Spring by Sally French. A longtime exhibitor in the islands and on the US continent, French is exhibiting her paintings for the first time at home on Kauai. With whimsy, humor and timeless imagery, her newest works continue to chronicle the events in our unsettling world.
Some of the selections reach back into the last decade, having toured US museums in Comic Release, [the Bebop series ], or exhibited in Chicago at Paper Now! and in Hawaii at the now-closed Balcony Gallery [ Rock the Kazbar ]. All of the paintings have been studied, refinished, and some reworked. Theme in mind, French allows the pentimento--loosely defined as old imagery that persists through new work, to be brought forward in a new context, adding imagery as it applies.

Of her work French states:
“Whether its just me, or the world is spinning into dark places, don’t know, but its affecting my art…which is probably nothing new to anyone who has followed my work. I often begin a new series seasonally oriented, that is, the colors and feelings are placed by the season when the work is begun. The two new large works on view, Black Rain and Black Spring, follow this process. Springtime, new beginnings, blue sky, pinks, yellows, flowers, birds and insects influence the beginning, then the imagery skews into my personal vocabulary by dark [ black ] catastrophic events, both global and home.”

Speaking directly to a viewer, she adds:

“I do have a request of the viewer for this exhibit. My imagery, my story-telling, is a visual journey that for me doesn’t transcribe well. It’s sometimes deep and sometimes broad. It’s meant to be cathartic, beautiful, entertaining, but personal. I am not going to reveal my motives, but ask that the viewer feels confident in his own response and not try to understand why the imagery is there. The most important thing for me is that there be nothing between the viewer’s emotional response and the artwork, no reasoning other than personal experiences.“

The Black Spring at galerie 103
May 5 - July 2 2011
Opening Reception May 5, 6-8 PM - live webcast 7 pm

May 4th, 3 PM - Liive gallery webcast during the installation of The Black Spring

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sally-french-galerie-103

An informal conversation with Sally French and walk-through of her work: June 16th, 6 pm. 

Detail from The Black Spring, 2011, oil, alkyd, Prismacolor, on birch panel, 44 x 66 inches 

At the studio....