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Posts Tagged ‘Corning NY’

“Home+Land” + Gallery Talk + Prize

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Painting, tagged , , , , , , on July 27, 2015| 3 Comments »

GC Myers Destiny Bound framedThis coming Saturday, August 1, I will be giving a Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery in support of my current show, Home+Land, that is hanging there.  It starts at 1 PM and, as many of you who regularly read this blog will know, ends with a drawing where one person in attendance will take home a painting of mine.

It’s something I’ve done for several years now at my Gallery Talks  and is something that really gives me great pleasure.  I’ve always felt so fortunate to have found my current life as a painter that this allows me to express my gratitude in a tangible way.  As a result, I try to carefully choose the works that I give away, not wanting to just go the far corner of the closet where I hide those early experiments that make me grimace to look at them now.

No, I want to give away paintings where I feel a pang of loss in giving them away, want them to have some sort of meaning for me so that this is not just an empty gesture. So, for this Saturday’s drawing, I have chosen the painting shown above.  It’s called Destiny Bound and is a 16″ by 20″ canvas so it has the size to give it a real presence.  It’s a painting that was only shown publicly once for a very short time before I brought it back to the studio.  It is sort of an anomaly in my body of work in the way it is framed, using a gold-leafed plein air frame rather than my signature frame.  I tried this frame style for a handful of pieces several years ago and decided that I wanted to stay solely with the continuity of my normal frames.  This is the one painting that remains in a gold frame and I chose to keep it as I’ve just become used to seeing it that way.

So, even though it has a unique overall appearance for my work, the painting itself is what I consider a great example of what has been called my Dark Work, work that first appeared in the months after 9/11 but has evolved over the years.  I am really attracted to overall presence of this painting and the deep colors and line work as well. And the expressiveness of the tree on the right.  That tree  has always felt like it pays tribute in some way to Thomas Hart Benton with its curves and lines.  While it reminds me of some his figures or trees, off the top of my head I can’t cite a particular painting of his that might feature such a tree or figure.

But that connection and the way the tree seems animated jumps out at me whenever I look at this piece. I just plain like this painting.  And I am giving it away on Saturday.  So, stop in at the West End Gallery on Saturday for what I hope will be an entertaining talk and maybe you can take  Destiny Bound home with you.  The talk starts at 1 PM and generally lasts about an hour.  Hope to see you there.

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Melding to the Moment

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on July 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Melding to the Moment smBe happy for this moment. This moment is your life.

–Omar Khayyam

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This is another painting from the Home+Land show that opens this coming Friday, July 17, at the West End Gallery.  Titled Melding to the Moment, it is a 24″ by 36″ canvas that, for me, pretty much holds the same message as the words above from Omar Khayyam. I see it as about being totally in the moment, in a sort of harmony with all things.

Using This moment is your life… as a rule, it is in finding those moments of contentment and happiness that can define your view of your life.  To be able to stop and block out regrets of the past or worries for the future allows one to enjoy the pleasures of the present, that slice of life immediately before you– that small wonder that might be lost when we are immersed in thoughts of what we have done or what we will do.

The song of a bird.  The smell of the grass.  The way the light comes from behind a cloud or the feel of  a warm breeze on your skin.  All small things, small moments.  But all moments that create the textures of life if we allow ourselves to simply pause and meld to the moment.

At least that’s how I see this piece.  It was one that was a long time coming, growing in small fits and starts.  I would work on it for a while and would see it going in a direction that didn’t quite suit me in that moment so I would put it aside.  Several weeks, perhaps even a couple of months, passed and I would pull it back out and do a bit more and where I thought it was headed was not at all where it was going.

So I waited a bit longer. Finally, a few weeks back I went back and it transformed into the painting that you now see.  It is nothing like I originally envisioned it in its earliest stages.  It went beyond where I thought it would be and that is always a pleasant surprise.

A pleasant surprise, a pleasant moment…

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A “Home+Land” Preview

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , , , on July 13, 2015| 1 Comment »

"Heightened Awareness"- GC Myers

“Heightened Awareness”- GC Myers

One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect the whole world looks like home for a time.

—Hermann Hesse

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Well, my show, Home+Land, is now hanging at the West End Gallery ahead of this Friday evening’s opening reception.  Feedback has been very strong thus far which alleviates some of the jitters that normally accompany the run-up to any of my shows, something I’ve written about here a number of times in the past.

This period between delivering the show and the opening is always one of uncertainty.  Even though I may feel confident and truly satisfied in the work, in this time period a lingering doubt always seems to rise up that perhaps my perception of the work will not jibe with that of the general public.  After many years and many of these shows, I know this an irrational fear, that how others see the work is beyond my control and so long as I feel that the work speaks honestly and confidently for me there is nothing to worry about.

And that is something that I definitely feel the work does in this show.  I feel completely invested in this show with a certainty that this group is an authentic representation and extension of my work and my self.  For better or worse, it just feels honest.

This was something I found to be true when I was putting together the short video preview below as I wanted to keep it shorter and didn’t want to include everything.  It was difficult deciding which pieces to include and which to leave out– each would add something and none which be out of place.

But in the end I felt pretty good about the group I chose and hope you’ll take a moment to decide for yourself.

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Home+Land

Posted in Influences, Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on June 22, 2015| 2 Comments »

GC Myers Home+Land smThe ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

–Maya Angelou

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This is the title painting, Home+Land,  for my next solo show which opens July 17 at the West End Gallery in Corning.  It’s a pretty large painting at 36″ high  by 48″ wide on canvas and one that fairly represents my feelings on how we are tied to the land, how we identify home with a sense of place.  This is the theme for this show as well as for much of my work in general.

I have long equated the idea of home with the landscape, with how we are shaped by those places that we know from an early age.  The rhythm, the shapes and the perspectives of the landscape that surrounds us becomes part of who we are , something that travels with us throughout our lives. Wherever we go, we look for similarities to that feeling of our home landscape.

It might be in the actual landforms or the way in which the vegetation interacts with the land and the structures of the homes there. It simply looks like home.  Or it might be just in the way the light strikes the land or the rhythm and flow of movement within the landscape that create a level of comfort that equates to that feeling of home.

I know, for myself, that there have been places where I have been where the landscape has been so different from the hills and fields surrounding my original home yet I still feel a sense of being at home.  And there are other places that, while similar in shape and having beauty and charms of their own, leave me uneasy and feeling out of place.  And there are places in which I immediately feel out of place in an alien way, places to which I could never fully adapt.  Definitely not at home.

I guess what I am trying to say is that home is a mix of feeling and place.  It is that place where you feel as comfortable and satisfied in place as the Red Tree in the painting above.

 

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What’s Coming Up

Posted in Neat Stuff, tagged , , , , , , , on March 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers -The Refreshing smJust a quick announcement today of my next few events.  First, in just over two weeks, on Saturday, April 11th,  I will be giving a Gallery Talk at the Kada Gallery in Erie, beginning  at 1 PM.  Then, on June 5th, marks the opening of  my annual solo exhibit at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  And after that comes my annual solo exhibit at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY which opens on July 17th.

The  Gallery Talk at the Kada Gallery in April marks the first real talk I have given at the gallery in the 19 years that I have shown my work there.  Actually, it is the second but the first, which was a few years back didn’t feel like one to me and never had the rhythm or flow of my normal talks.  It was held at the beginning of the opening reception for my show there and there was little seating and people were milling about, looking at the new work as they entered the gallery.  There was a lot of distraction and it wasn’t really conducive to creating real interaction with the audience, given my limited skills as a public speaker.  I left feeling as though I had really under-performed  that night.

So I don’t count that as a true Gallery Talk and vow to bring my A game.  Also, this upcoming talk will feature a drawing for those in attendance to win one of my original paintings, along with several other goodies, something that has become a popular feature at talks at my other galleries.  I spend a lot of time deciding which painting to give away at these events because I want it to be something meaningful, not secondary work.  In the past I have given away what I consider to be substantial paintings and I promise those who take the time to come won’t be disappointed in the choice for this drawing. Or in the talk itself, for that matter.  So, if you’re in Erie on Saturday, April 11th, I hope to see you at the Kada Gallery at 1 PM.

This year’s show at the Principle Gallery is titled Native Voice and is the 16th consecutive show, going back to 2000,  at the Alexandria landmark.  It is always one of the highlights of my year, the anchor around which I build my work year.  I am pretty excited about the work that has been coming out for this show thus far and think it will be a very strong exhibit.  But don’t take my word for it– see for yourself.

And then in July, it’s a homecoming of sorts with the opening of my show (still working on the title for this show) at the West End Gallery.  It’s always a pleasure and a thrill to show in your home area.  It’s just a different vibe– more familiar might be the best way of explaining it.  It’s always nice to get to show off a bit for folks who might not see you just as a painter, but know you in other ways.  I see a lot of people from the other phases of my life at these shows and it means a lot that they come out to see this aspect of what I do.  As a result, this show always seems to bring out the best in my work and I suspect that this year will continue that trend.

So, that’s the next several months and, of course, there is more beyond that including a two-day workshop I will be teaching in September at the Yates County Arts Center in the beautiful Finger Lakes.  Not to mention Gallery Talks at the West End in August and the Principle in September.

And with a little surprise I hope to unveil in May, it makes for a very busy year. So stay tuned.

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Contemporary Art + Design Wing at CMOG Opens!

Posted in Neat Stuff, tagged , , on March 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

CMOG New Wing 2015It’s a very big day in this area as the new Contemporary Art + Design Wing of the Corning Museum of Glass officially opens to the public.

It’s a 100,000-square-foot addition to an already magnificent museum experience, including a state-of-the-art glass-blowing amphitheater that seats 500 and a 26,000-square-foot  space for the display of contemporary art glass, making it the largest such space anywhere.  This allows the museum to now display the very largest art glass pieces in its collections.

There is incredible glass art on display inside but the building itself  might qualify as the largest piece of glass art on the site.  Designed by architect Thomas Phifer, its exterior appears as a luminous white glass cube that reflects the outer environment.   Because contemporary glass is basically not subject to damage from light exposure, Phifer was able to design a museum space unlike any other.  The roof itself is a sort of whole-building skylight that, along with the translucent glass exterior walls, bathes the glass art in a constant glowing light.

CMOG InteriorThe interior features amorphous walls that snake through the space–not a corner to be seen.  Even the glass protective panels that surround some of the displays feel special  in this space.  They are made from ultra-thin Gorilla Glass ( a Corning product that is probably the screen your smartphone) and reportedly have an ethereal , barely there feel.

I am very excited for this addition and for the museum.  As I said, it is already a fantastic museum experience and this only takes it to a much higher level.  So make your plans and come to Corning.  In the Finger Lakes of New York with all its many wineries, we have a world-class museum of glass as well as the  Rockwell Museum, great glass studios, art galleries, shops and restaurants.  Hey, if you’re in the area in July  I hear there will be a show at the West End Gallery that you probably should catch.

Here’s video from the Corning Museum of Glass where they talk about the new addition and their hopes for it. Below it are a couple of the pieces that will be on display.

CMOG Evening Dress with Shawl Karen LaMonte Zelezny Brod 2004

Evening Dress with Shawl – Karen LaMonte, Zelezny Brod 2004

 

Carrona (Carrion)

Carrona (Carrion)- Javier Perez 2011

 

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Quote of the Week: Trailblazer

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , , , , on February 5, 2015| 1 Comment »

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

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GC Myers- Trailblazer I chose this little gem of advice from Emerson as the Quote of the Week because I thought it fit so well with the small painting above, a Little Gem itself.  It’s a small 4″ by 6″ painting that is called Trailblazer and is part of the Little Gems exhibit that opens tomorrow night at the West End Gallery in Corning.  I also chose it because those words fits so well for my own experience at the time I began showing my work for the first time, at this very same exhibit twenty years.

I was thrilled to have an outlet in which to show it publicly but was still in the process of finding a singular voice of my own–how my work would be styled.  Part of that process of finding this  was in determining what path I would follow with the work, whether I try to emulate the work of other painters I knew and admired.  That seemed like a natural path to follow, wide and well defined.

 But the path was also crowded.  Sometimes it was hard to distinguish yourself  and find a foothold among so many companions.  But if I set out on my own  that would not be the case.  On the the well-trodden path,  I would always be subject to comparison  and immediate critique.  Blazing my own trail would allow me to set my own pace and destination, define my own objectives.

Plus it would be my path alone.  And that was no small thing. In fact, it was a primary goal of  mine.   I had determined from my visits to museums that the work that stood out most for me was the work of artists who you could identify immediately from across the gallery space.  Looking at the shelves in front of me, most of the books are of the works of such artists, all who eventually set out on their own trails and created work from a world that was their’s alone.

I’m still on my path.  I’d like to think it departed from that wider, more traveled path sometime ago.  I can’t be the judge of that.  So I plug ahead with words of Emerson ringing in my ears and hope for the best.

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Wisdom of the Wind

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on January 28, 2015| 1 Comment »

GC Myers- Wisdom of the WindWisdom sails with wind and time.

–John Florio

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Thought I’d take the opportunity to show another new small painting that will be part of the Little Gems show at the West End Gallery, opening next Friday.  This little 4″ by 6″ piece is titled Wisdom of the Wind.

For me, this is a piece about motion, about the movement of the trees caught in the gusting winds.  Like the words from the 16th century above, I see this as being about how we  are often shaped by exposure and time to prevailing thought.  Some will simply succumb to the winds of the time while some will offer resistance against the direction in which the wind is blowing.

I suppose that the wisdom comes from knowing when to relent and when to resist.  What fights to pick and what fights to let pass.

There’s a long pause between that last short paragraph and this one.  I find myself lost in that thought, wondering if there is any wisdom in it at all.  It’s one of those things where I can see a viable argument for either side.  I suppose it comes down to one’s nature, how one is built.  Some trees are made to simply go with the wind while others always struggle against every wind.

I sometimes can’t decide what type of tree I am.

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The Storms Are On the Ocean

Posted in Favorite Things, Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 25, 2015| 8 Comments »

GC Myers- Storms Are on the OceanI’ve been working recently on some very small pieces for the upcoming Little Gems show at the West End Gallery in Corning.  I’ve mentioned here before that this particular show is always  a sentimental favorite of mine as it was in this show that I first publicly showed my work twenty years ago.  It represents the first step on to the path that I now follow and that makes it special for me.  Plus I enjoy working in the smaller scale for a bit.  It allows for easily easing back into older themes and forward into newer ones.

One of these pieces that just finished yesterday is shown here at the top.  It’s a 4″ by 6″ painting that I call Storms Are on the Ocean.  I haven’t done a boat painting in some time and thought the smaller format would be the perfect opportunity to re-visit the theme.  I am always drawn to the motion in these pieces and the billow of the sail.  It reminds me of a fable or a dream in some way that I find appealing.

I thought this would be the perfect match for this week’s Sunday morning music which is the song after which this painting is titled.  It’s The Storms Are on the Ocean, a song first done by the legendary Carter Family back in the late 20’s.  This version is from June Carter Cash‘s last album, Wildwood Flower, which was released in the year, 2003, after her death.  Like the final recordings of her husband, the great Johnny Cash, this album shows her in a fragile state of health which adds greatly to the emotional impact of the songs.

It definitely comes through on this lovely song with its haunting chorus:
The storms are on the ocean
The heavens may cease to be
This world may lose its motion, love
If I prove false to thee

Enjoy and have a great Sunday.

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Shop Small This Holiday Season

Posted in Current Events, Opinion, tagged , , , , , , , on November 28, 2014| 1 Comment »

Small-Business-SaturdayWatched the news just now and they featured clips from around the nation that had shoppers pushing and shoving one another at department stores early this morning.  Black Friday, of  course.  Scenes of a guy being taken away in a police cruiser after a fight with a lady over a $5 Barbie at some distant Walmart  just don’t seem that unusual on this day.

Good grief, as Charlie Brown might say.

I only mention this because I am urging you to shop locally and shop small this holiday season.  Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday where shoppers are urged to do just that– support their local, small businesses.  It’s a concept that is very important to me as I am a small businessman, as is every artist. I create work that is art first.  But after the creation, the distribution of this out into the world is not unlike that of all other products, requiring packaging, shipping and advertising, among other things.

And every gallery that I sell my work through is a small business and all have been  anchors in their local business communities for many years.  For example, the West End Gallery has been a fixture on historic Market Street in Corning, NY for 38 years now.  They show the work of over 50 local artists and craftspeople– glassworkers, jewelry makers and fine woodworkers.  All are small businesses who buy most of their materials locally and who spend the bulk of their income locally, supporting other local small businesses in both ways.

It is this cycle of small business that gives communities like Corning that  vibrancy makes them beautiful places in which to live.  This is a purely speculative statement but I would guess that most comfortable and livable communities, big and small,  around the country feature a foundation of strong small businesses.   After all, who can best serve the local needs?  The answer is small businesses with a stake in the community.

So, this year, please try to shop locally and shop small.  You are feeding the lifeblood of your community when you do so.  Besides, is a $5 Barbie really worth a beatdown or an arrest?

 

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