A new body of work by Chattanooga Artist Jane Newman will be featured the month of August at In Town Gallery. An opening reception will be this Friday from 5-8 p.m., where guests can meet the artist. Ms. Newman’s paintings will hang through the end of the month.
"BookMarks: A Library of Line, Shape, Value, Color & Texture is a series of paintings that crosses the threshold of hyper-realism into abstraction. Images of old, time worn, leather bound books inspired Ms. Newman to explore her deep feelings about the printed word using a very non-traditional visual approach," officials said.
I like books,” says Ms. Newman, “I enjoy reading books. I like the look of books and the feel of books, especially old books. I like books whose age gives them character--old, time worn and weathered; leather bound books with tattered pages that have faded over their well-thumbed history. They have a beauty that is simple and quiet, yet it speaks in volume.”
Ms. Newman has a bachelor of fine arts degree from Memphis State University and has had an award winning career as a graphic designer and art director.
"A painter of still life, landscape and portraits, many of her paintings are inspired by nostalgic objects that bring to mind memories from our collective past," officials said. "Her paintings are infused with an interplay of light and shadow combining to create intriguing compositions.
"Her newest show, BookMarks: A Library of Line, Shape, Value, Color, & Texture, is a card catalog of her obsession with old books and yet her approach to presenting them in paint is anything but old and stodgy. Her work walks a line between realism and abstraction, focusing on the interaction of marks made by shape against shape, value against value. As light defines the shadow, vibrations are produced on the canvas. And just as books are made-up of layers of pages and bindings, these paintings are built up of layers of underpainting on which she creates dramatic surface textures."
“The paint brush just wasn’t enough for these paintings,” Ms. Newman said. “I used some pretty unorthodox tools like wood chiseling instruments, gardening spades, screwdrivers, & house paint scrapers all sorts of shapes and sizes. You might say designs dictated the plot of what I did visually on the surface of the canvas.”.
“'Once Upon a Bye…' is a good example of Newman’s methods in this current series of paintings," officials said. "Rich browns, yellows, whites and grays are applied thickly, scratched through and layered on each other. If the viewer moves close to the painting the subject dissolves into random strokes of color, but as the eye moves further away these seemingly careless splashes of paint resolve into a remarkably realistic presentation of the books Newman so loves. It is bravura display of painting by an artist who truly knows her craft."
In-Town Gallery is an artist co-op gallery that is open seven days a week and offers a wide range of art and fine craft from 30 artists, including paintings in many media, hand-painted silk scarves and clothing, sculpture, pottery and handcrafted wood items. Also featured are works in stained glass and exquisite handmade jewelry, and a special section dedicated to fine art photography. In-Town Gallery is located on the North Shore, 26A Frazier Ave., 423-267-9214. Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday - Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
"Once upon a bye..." 40"x16" acrylic on canvas