Join us for our next opening this Friday, February 2, 5-7pm
and an artist talk Saturday, February 3, 2pm
Big Beautiful Paintings at the Firehouse Gallery
Burlington, VT: There’s nothing sexier than a big beautiful painting! Extravagant, luxurious and inviting – gigantic canvases that draw you in and immerse you in their grandness and beauty. That’s the idea behind the exhibition Big Beautiful Paintings, opening February 2nd at 5pm and running through March 3rd at the Firehouse Gallery. Three immensely talented female Vermont artists, Lucinda Mason, Gillian Klein and Nancy Taplin, have been brought together to showcase some of the best painting in the region. The pubic will have a chance to here the artists speak about their work in person, Saturday, February 3rd at 2pm in the Firehouse Gallery on Church Street.
Why the title Big Beautiful Paintings? “I wanted to reduce these works down to their simplest adjectives, and that is exactly what they are – big and beautiful. Painting is often thought of as the finest of arts, the most sophisticated medium, but I wanted to emphasize their accessibility . . . their just plain attraction,” says Firehouse Gallery curator Ruth Erickson.
Each artist approaches the canvas with a distinct and personal aesthetic. Gillian Klein, a graduate of Burlington College, depicts ethereal urban scenes and masterfully suggests the shifting lights and crowds of her native New York City. Lucinda Mason, who received her Masters degree from Concordia University in Montreal and is currently a resident of Glover, Vermont, explores the micro and macro elements of the world. Intricate details, dots and lines of oil paint, coalesce to resemble the cosmos, the underside of a jungle canopy, or careful embroidery. Mason is the recipient of a Vermont Arts Council grant to support the creation of work for this exhibition. Nancy Taplin, from Warren, Vermont, creates compelling compositions through heavy brushstrokes, abstract forms, and color. Her work captures the emotional potential of paint. All of these artists are masters of their medium, demonstrating the malleability of this age-old tradition.
Big Beautiful Paintings is an important part the 25th Anniversary celebration of Burlington City Arts, who is dedicated to the promotion of excellence, experimentation, and education in all forms of contemporary art. For more information about gallery exhibitions, special events, classes and workshops, please call (802) 865-7166 or visit BurlingtonCityArts.com.
