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Posts Tagged ‘KADA Gallery’

Kada Show Review

Posted in Biographical, Neat Stuff, tagged , , , , , , on December 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Kada Show 2014 aIn today’s edition of the Erie Times-News, there is a review of Into the Common Ground, my show currently on view at the Kada Gallery.  Written by Karen Rene Merkle, it gives an insightful and positive overview of the show.

It’s always a treat to see how others view your work, especially when they make the effort and spend the time getting to know the work.  It is my understanding that Ms. Merkle does just this, giving each piece her undivided attention as she takes in the show at the gallery. This makes it easy for me to fully appreciate her observations and insights about the work.

In the review, she mentioned that over the course of my time with the Kada, going on 19 years now, that the Erie community had adopted me as one of their own.  That really struck a chord with me, being a person who has often felt out of place.

I have come to really appreciate the vibrancy of the Erie community, how it has maintained its dignity and identity through its transformation into the 21st century.   There is a lack of an inferiority complex  and a real strength in their self-belief which dispels any traces of  deference to larger cities.  As Joe DeAngelo at the Kada Gallery would say: It is what it is.

Most other  industrial-based Rust Belt cities have not been able to move forward with the spirit and pride that I have experienced in this city.

So to be adopted by a community that is proud of its people and history and looks forward with optimism makes me happy  to call Erie a second home.

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A Changed Sovereign Solitude

Posted in Painting, Quote, Work In Progress, tagged , , , , on December 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.

–Daniel Gilbert

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GC Myers- Sovereign Solitude smThe statement at the top from Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert is one that I have found very true for myself and many of those I know, although sometimes we tend to see folks captured at certain steps in their changing lives through our memories of single moments.  His words also has a certain truth for some of my work, as well.

  One of the paintings that went to my current Kada Gallery show was the painting shown above, Sovereign Solitude.  It’s a painting that has been with me for a couple of years now, one that somehow hasn’t yet found a home.  It was a piece that really resonated for me and I found myself surprised when it came back from showing in a couple of galleries.  It was in my studio for some time and I began to try to look at it with the imagined eyes of someone else.   For me, it was complete but looking longer at it, I discovered that I was only seeing it as complete.  I was filling in its blank areas with the knowledge of what needed to be done.  Without actually doing those things.

So I went back into it.  The clouds had been dark masses of red  and they changed to have more lightness in them.  The white side of the structure became much whiter and the tree, which had been barren, gained some light foliage along with a few falling leaves.  The mass of color that was the sky was darkened at the upper and outer edges.  Finishing, it still held that same satisfying sensation for me but now seemed to be complete, to not hold the blanks spaces that I saw as being filled in my mind.

I guess you can’t be afraid to change.

Here’s what I wrote about this piece a few years back.  I think it still applies after the change.  Maybe more so.

The word sovereignty often comes to mind often when I scan through the body of my work. The idea of the individual standing apart, self-reliant and strong, is an appealing notion to me, as it is to many others. This sovereign individual is still part of this world yet self-contained, it alone being responsible for its actions and reactions. It has made its choice and it has chosen solitude.

This is a scary concept for some, a life where we must take responsibility for our actions and decisions, where we relish our time alone in solitude. It is a freedom which we profess to desire but are often hesitant in pursuing. It may not be a freedom which suits everybody but for those who seek this sovereignty of self, there is no greater reward than living by your own decisions and beliefs. We may not seem significant in the greater world but we have the power to rule our own lives.

And that should always be remembered.

This painting is a good example of this thought.  It has a warmth and calmness in it that I myself find appealing. It is like taking a deep breath then slowly releasing it, allowing the effects of this action to be felt fully. The pulse slows and breathing levels off.

Solitude found.

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Christmas Dance

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, Influences, Music, Video, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 14, 2014| 2 Comments »

Snoopy and Schroeder DanceAt the Kada Gallery opening last week,  a very pleasant man asked if my work was influenced by the Peanuts cartoons.  He said the work had that same feeling for him.  I laughed and said that, of course, these cartoons had been a large influence on my work and probably the way I see things in general.  After all, Snoopy was the first thing I ever learned to draw, the result of an older boy on my school bus ( thank you, Tom Hillman, wherever you might be) showing me how to do so in several easy steps.  Throughout grade school Snoopy was drawn all over every piece of paper I came across, his Joe Cool and World War I Flying Ace characters being personal favorites.

I explained that many of those early cartoons — the great Chuck Jones’ Looney Tunes , the very early Popeyes , the Disney cartoons with their gorgeous color, and so many more–informed and influenced the way I looked at things and set a pattern for the way I would later interpret the landscape.  They created a visual shorthand in the work that simplified the  forms in the surrounding landscape yet still gave a sense of place and time and emotion.

And that’s precisely what I try to do in my work today.

For me, A Charlie Brown Christmas is as close to perfect as any cartoon can be.  It’s a wonderful blending  of mood, movement and music with a smartness and charm that never seems to diminish. For this week’s dose of Sunday morning music, what could be more fitting than the Vince Guaraldi’s Christmas Dance from it?

Have a great Sunday and, if you feel like it, dance along with the Peanuts gang.  It’ll do ya’ good…

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The Red Chair in the Tree

Posted in Biographical, Influences, Personal Mythology, Recent Paintings, tagged , on December 9, 2014| 7 Comments »

GC Myers- Family Lines smDuring the openings for most of my shows, such as this past week’s opening at the Kada Gallery,   I inevitably get a number of questions about the meaning of the Red Chair especially when it’s suspended in a tree such as in the painting shown here from the show, Family Lines.  The empty chair itself is a simple and powerful symbol in many cultures of past ancestors or someone who is absent.  I have personally attached the concept of one’s own inner memory to it as well, seeing the chair as a distinct memory or myself in the narrative of that memory.  It is not always the same thing in each different circumstance.

But how it came to be aloft in the tree is a story that began when I was a kid.  I’ve told it innumerable times over the years but here it is:

Wilawana Road BarnGrowing up, we lived in the country in an isolated old farmhouse with an old barn across the road.  I happened to drive by the old place yesterday and snapped this photo of the old barn, now in a much more advanced stage of decay than when I was running around there.  It was pretty solid and complete at that earlier time.   In front of the barn, to the left of it here and out of the shot, is a large and old stone chimney, all that remains from the home of an early settler to the area, a stage coach driver who was killed there in an Indian raid in the late 18th century.  A small cemetery with old slate stones was nestled in the edge of the forest nearby. For a kid, it was a place filled with memory, a great place to play and let your imagination run wild.

One summer when I was 8 or 9 years old,  I came across a dead woodchuck laying next to the barn.  I don’t know how he died– he was just there.  Dead.  As the summer progressed and he dried out, a vine passed through his body and by summer’s end was suspended a couple of feet in the air.  To the eyes of a child this was something magical.  I was struck by the power of the earth to reclaim its creatures.  Everything seemed very ephemeral after that…

The idea of a tree growing through an object such as a chair, which is very representative of human existence, is a continuation of that early fascination.  It wasn’t until I had painted several pieces with the hanging chair that I began to also see the symbolism of the empty chair, which in some cultures represents the recently deceased.  That is what I see now– the family members who have passed on.  Again, this is my interpretation of this work.  I enjoy hearing what other people see in the work because many times it’s completely different from what I see but just as valid.  I often look at some pieces in a whole new light after hearing a new view.

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A Change is Gonna Come

Posted in Favorite Things, Music, Video, tagged , , , , , , on December 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Beyond the Blues smGreat opening night for my show, Into the Common Ground, this past Friday at the Kada Gallery in Erie.  Great crowd with a nice mix of people, old and new to my work.  Good questions and conversations.  Just a very successful show opening all the way around.

Many, many thanks to Kathy, Joe and Morgan at the Kada for making it such a wonderful night and making me feel like a part of the family there. Also, many thanks to everyone who came out and took part.  I can’t tell you how much it is appreciated.  And thanks to the weather for being relatively mild, a sometimes rare thing on the shores of Lake Erie in December.

Thank you!

Well. that being said, it is time for a little Sunday music.  I was thinking Otis Redding and that voice that I could listen to sing almost anything.  It’s hard to believe that in a few days it will 47 years since he was killed in a plane crash in 1967 at the age of 26.  Hard to imagine what might have come from this huge talent.  But he did leave behind an impressive legacy of music, including this great version of the Sam Cooke classic A Change is Gonna Come. It gives you something to think about on this Sunday morning.

Have a great day.

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Show Night at the Kada

Posted in Favorite Things, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on December 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Blessed in Blue smallI’ve been extraordinarily fortunate in my career to have had long and lasting relationships with several galleries that represent my work.  This coming February will mark 20 years at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY as well as 18 years with the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  It also marks my 19th year with the Kada Gallery in Erie, PA.  Tonight’s show marks the 35th solo shows at these 3 galleries since the year 2000.

Each of these galleries is ran by people who I genuinely like and respect on a personal level which I think is the reason for the longevity of the relationships.  As a result, I always feel a responsibility to deliver the best possible show to each of these galleries.  A friend would do no less.

I hope that I have met that responsibility with the work for Into the Common Ground which opens tonight at the Kada Gallery.  Owners Kathy and Joe DeAngelo are two of the most decent and hard working people I have encountered in this or any other business.  Kathy has a tremendous enthusiasm for the work she displays, treating each piece with great care and respect.  She takes the time to really get to know the work, asking questions about the story behind each piece, and speaks authoritatively about it– all an artist can ask for in someone who shows their work.

Her enthusiasm is infectious.  When she calls me in the studio and I might be feeling a little worn down, I always hang up feeling upbeat and eager to get back at the paint.  Even after nearly 19 years of seeing my work she always seems excited by new pieces and that is a magical elixir for all artists.

So you can see why I desire my best for this show.  I know that this is a purely subjective opinion but I feel that I have done so this year.  It’s a show that clicks a lot of button for me but, again, that is not for me to say.  You will to just come out and judge for yourself.

The piece at the top, Blessed in Blue, is a 16″ by 20″ canvas, from the show.

 

 

 

 

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Expansion

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on December 4, 2014| 6 Comments »

GC Myers- Expansion smMan’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

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This another new painting,  a 16″ by 20″ canvas titled Expansion, that is part of my show, Into the Common Ground, that opens tomorrow in Erie, PA at the Kada Gallery.

For me, this is a painting whose theme is centered on the expansion of one’s mind and vision, about moving to a higher plateau of feeling and taking a wider view of the world.  This involves leaving the mind open to new ideas with the hope that these new ideas bring some form of enlightenment and that the negatives– hatred, greed, anger and envy just to name a few–that we have held on to for so long will be replaced by more positive qualities–love, generosity and kindness.

I see this expansion in the way the Red Tree seems to be facing the far horizon with arms open, unashamed and willing to submit itself to change.  It stands among the alternating rows of the field which represent in this piece being trapped in the entrenched patterns of habit.  By that, I mean we all too often live without thought, going with the prevailing movement of the crowd and never taking the time to stop and consider why and what we are doing.  We accept things as they are without trying to contemplate the possibility of things being somehow different, never consider opening ourselves to a different way of seeing the world.

A different way of simply being.

And I see this possibility, this expansiveness,  in this simply composed piece.  It is a feeling that is calm and kind and embracing– ideas that we all will hopefully allow to stretch our own minds.

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“Into the Common Ground” Preview

Posted in Music, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , on December 2, 2014| 5 Comments »

Into the Common Ground/ GC MyersAs I have been mentioning here, my solo show, Into the Common Ground, is now at the Kada Gallery in Erie, PA with an opening reception scheduled for this Friday, December 5.  Although it’s hard for me to be completely objective, I’m pleased with this show and think it’s a very strong show.  It clicks a lot of my boxes.

But again, that is my own biased opinion.  You can form your own opinion by taking a look at the video preview of the work in the show below.

Hope you’ll enjoy and if you’re in Erie this Friday, please stop in at the Kada Gallery and say hello.

 

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Delicate Balance

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , on December 1, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Delicate Balance smMy solo exhibit, Into the Common Ground, opens at the Kada Gallery in Erie this Friday, December 5th.  While much of my work centers on the unique voice of the individual, the theme of this show is about finding those common bonds and experiences that we share with others.

Actually, I’ve always thought that my work succeeds when it communicates as a mix of those two things– individual expression of a common theme or emotion.  Art for me is communication, about reaching out and finding validation in my own humanity through contact with others.  I  feel that art should be expansive, not exclusive or reserved for wealthy insiders.  While art is often an inward search, it should always be reaching out to engage the world.

And maybe that is what I see here in this new painting, Delicate Balance.  Creating work that reaches out and finds common ground is a sometimes delicate balance.  It comes down to identifying what is really at the base of what you are or hope to be as a human and pushing aside those negative feelings– envy, greed and hate among many other negatives– that cloud your judgement.

Its not always an easy thing to accomplish.  That bridge across to others can be sometime wobbly.  But when it does happen, that simple crossing seems like the 8th wonder of the world. A miracle.

 

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Refuge of the Heart

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , on November 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers-Refuge of the Heart smMy solo show, Into the Common Ground, has been delivered and is now at the Kada Gallery in advance of its opening next Friday, December 5th.  This painting, Refuge of the Heart, a 10″ by 30″ canvas, is one of the last pieces to be completed for this show and has the same sort of warmth in its color that runs through the entire show, a warmth that permeates the scene with a feeling of confidence and security.

And that is the feeling that I think we all desire for ourselves and our own hearts.  We want to be safe and sure in our lives, to be needed and vital to other lives.

And there is something in this piece that holds that feeling for me.  It could be the color.  Or maybe it’s the light over the horizon or the rolling field rows or some other aspect that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Maybe its the shape of the small island on which the Red Tree grows that looks like a semi-submerged heart.  It was seeing this shape that triggered the title, after all.

It could be any number of things but whatever the case, it is a piece that feels like a perfect place in which to let my own heart dwell.

 

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