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February 2008 Archives

February 5, 2008

A Year in the Everglades: Recent Works of Art

After a year in the Everglades, living in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve, local artists Ailyn Hoey and Mark Goodenough have returned to the area with new works inspired by their recent adventure. As part of Bellows Falls' 3rd Friday Gallery Walk, the exhibit opens February 15, 2008 in the Exner Block Gallery.

Wading birds, alligators, snakes , fish and other abundant wildlife provided inspiration for Goodenough's sheet metal sculptures. His highly refined style combines abstract organic forms into life-like renderings. These pieces are cold formed by hammering and take many hours of hand work to complete.

Inspired by remote and wild places, Hoey captures the land in her charcoal drawings by focusing on the interplay of light and shadow. In her finely rendered drawings, the mountainous clouds, barren cypress and lush vegetation of South Florida are portrayed in their subtle beauty.

The public is welcome to attend this event from 5pm-8pm in the Exner Block Gallery, 7 Canal Street, Bellows Falls, VT. Light refreshments will be provided.

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February 29, 2008

Ailyn Hoey

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"...they are purely naturalistic depictions which yet contain a mystically symbolic quality equal to what one might find in the very best purely abstract works. This combination which she has mastered of exquisitely precise depiction of nature with profound symbolic expression is intensely moving and extraordinarily effective."

-Christopher Faris, Manchester Journal

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Growing up in rural Vermont, Hoey spent many hours exploring its woods, river banks and beaver ponds. Hoey has always liked to create with her hands and started painting and drawing as a child. Gradually, she began to create art full-time, developing her current focus: landscapes in charcoal.

The terrains that inspire Hoey provide solitude. They are often remote, rugged, and unspoiled. Each year she has spent time creating art on Great Cranberry Island, Maine, in west Texas, and in Vermont. Most recently, she has found inspiration in south Florida's wilderness.

Hoey was awarded two residencies, first in the Everglades National Park and then in Big Cypress National Preserve. During these residencies, she fell in love with the ecosystem and was inspired to move to southern Florida for a year, to further immerse herself in the environment. She now lives in Vermont.

Hoey has exhibited in New England as well as in Texas and Florida. Currently she is represented by the Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough, New Hampshire and Islesford Artists, in Islesford, Maine.

ARTIST STATEMENT

While working in a variety of media, I discovered my love of charcoal and the challenges of its limited palette. Using techniques developed on my own, I create pieces inspired by the natural world. Particular places evoke strong feelings, which I portray as emotional landscapes rather than realistic renderings.

Internal journeys and questions are common themes throughout my work. Realizing the necessity of acknowledging and expressing that which is within, both the light and the dark, I explore these emotions in my drawings. I arrange the elements in my charcoals to resonate with feelings of place on a very primitive level. Through my work, I seek to capture something larger.

As Robert Henri aptly put it, "There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented. Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-posts toward greater knowledge."

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The Rowen


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Shark Valley

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September

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Early Spring

About February 2008

This page contains all entries posted to Exner Block in February 2008. They are listed from oldest to newest.

December 2007 is the previous archive.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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