March Featured Exhibition
Brad LeDuc
Acrylic on wood panel
Transitions: Point A to Point B
acrylic
Work for this exhibition began as a commentary on the experiences of physical transitions in space. I contemplated questions including, “What are the most traveled paths my body takes from point A to point B?” What are the most significant passages I make?” In reflecting, I was also drawn to the significance of “place,” contrasting my childhood home in Clyde, Kansas with my current home in Topeka, Kansas, and the impact those two places have had on who I am today.
The two-hour drive between Topeka and Clyde has been a well-traveled path over the last 15 years. The journey from point A to point B is a near meditative experience, full of many views I have enjoyed passing by over the years. Making the trek is a welcomed voyage of familiarity; old and new. The transition between the two places and the work before you are symbolic in terms of the similarities and differences between who I was and who I have become. Each work in the show has two horizontal bands of gradient color which represent these transitions between the past (top/muted color gradations) and present (bottom/brighter color gradations). They overlap spatially (vertically) and fade, symbolizing the connections we have with place, our past, our present and their connection to the passage of time.
Art of the Week
Colie Ryan
oil on canvas
I have always appreciated all kinds of original art, but only on a few memorable occasions have I found “love-it-so-much-I-gotta-have-it” art. Creating that same feeling in people who see my work is the reason I paint.
I paint light and bright natural scenes using palette knives to create sharp lines, pops of bright color, and dimension. My paintings are fresh and dynamically textured with a minimalist and modern bent. I like to paint with oils because the paint has heft and shine.
My approach to painting is “no rules”. I work with quick strokes, wet on wet, often putting paint directly from the tube onto blank canvases and panels. I put on my fearless hat and go for it.