Town Facilities Showcase 5 New, Local Artist Exhibits
Cary, NC — Beginning last week on Tuesday, June 15, the doors of the Cary Arts Center and Page-Walker Arts & History Center swung open with new life in them.
Locals and visitors alike are once again welcomed inside these facilities where they can enjoy the various shows of 5 featured artists whose work includes paintings, glassworks, quilts, needle prints and other mixed media displays.
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll find at these free-to-attend shows along with a bit of what inspired each of these female artist’s thoughtfully-made collections.
“When a Rose Is Not a Rose”
By Paula Montgomery
Page-Walker Arts & History Center | June 15 – Sept. 10, 2021 | Painting, Mixed Medium
Paula Montgomery passionately transforms everyday flowers into painterly, visual poems. She uses either a lithe, expressionistic brushstroke or a purposeful palette knife to create paintings that hover between abstraction and representation. Brushstrokes and paper contribute to Paula’s unique, textured canvases. Her paintings exude a sense of peace and joy.
Montgomery says, “If my work can bring a moment of happiness to the viewer, then I feel I’ve accomplished something worthwhile.”
See more from Paula Montgomery on her website: https://www.paulamontgomeryart.com/
“Life Interrupted”
By Lindsey Chester
Page-Walker Arts & History Center | June 15 – Sept. 10, 2021 | Acyrlic & pencil
Artist statement:
“My work focuses on real life. Real people and real places.
Our lives were interrupted last year. Things that had been planned were canceled, our lives took a detour inward. That interruption allowed me to grow as an artist and this show reflects a journey in style, technique, and an evolution in subject matter.
Several paintings in this show were part of a show at Page-Walker that was canceled. The balance were all created over the following 15 months.
This show represents an artistic journey taken before, during and post-Covid. My earlier paintings of colorfully rendered historic homes and buildings gave way to snapshots of life before Covid, and most recently I began an exploration of portraiture as I focused on faces instead of bodies. As an artist you must continually evolve, and this year gave me the time and space to grow in so many directions.
I pursued several challenges this year: Working larger, depicting people and crowds, and finally Focus on faces.
While 2020 was hard in so many ways, I am personally thankful for the time it gave me to explore my art and pursue avenues in my practice that I might never have chosen if my life had not been “interrupted”.”
See more from Lindsey Chester on her website: www.Lindseychestersart.com
“Taking Time: Exploring the Fragile Existence of ‘The Moment’ Through Nature”
Kristin Lozoya
Page-Walker Arts & History Center | June 15 – Sept. 10, 2021 | Glassworks, Mixed Medium
Artist Statement:
“Parents of neurotypical children often say, “slow time down” or “they are growing up too fast” Parents of children on the severe end of the Autism Spectrum, like myself, are all too often confronted with dark thoughts like “what will happen to my child after I am gone?”
These dark thoughts found comfort in the poetry of my late grandmother. My grandmother took a writing course and wrote over a dozen poems reflecting on her ninety-one years on this beautiful planet. I was so moved by her words I incorporated them into this series of glassworks.
This collection represents my effort to be fully present in the moment with the knowledge that life by its very nature is transient. A flower blooms and will wilt one day. Honor the flower by taking in its color and fragrance today. Collection dedicated to my grandmother, Maureen Lovece.”
See more from Kristin Lozoya on her website: https://www.kristinlozoya.com/
“Piers”
By Caitlin Cary
Cary Arts Center Gallery | June 15 – Aug. 22, 2021 | Fiber
Since 2013, Caitlin Cary has been working in a medium for which she coined the term “Needle Print,” an intricate form of fabric collage in which cloth is affixed by machine stitch to paper or other rigid backing. Her most recent work, a series titled “Piers” focuses on the patterns and spatial complexity and “weightiness” of the undergirding of buildings, bridges, docks, dams.
See more from Caitlin Cary on her website: www.caitlincary.com
“Celebrate Cary!”
by Mary Ritter
Cary Arts Center Principal’s Hall | June 15 – July 19, 2021 | Fiber
This show is all about quilts that were stitched with the purpose of celebrating Cary’s 150th year.
Artist Statement:
“‘Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever — Walt Disney.’ Cary’s leadership has taken its citizen through the decades with pleasing cultural activities, beautiful architecture and beneficial business development. Each season brings enjoyment such as kite flying, Lazy Daze, history tours and holiday celebrations. Take a walk around town to enjoy the sites. Happy sesquicentennial, Cary!”
See more from Mary Ritter on her website: www.maryritter.com
For more on current art shows in Cary, keep an eye on the Town’s Current Exhibitions webpage.
Story by staff reports. Photos courtesy of Kris Carmichael and Lindsey Chester.
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Thanks for helping us to promote these talented artists’ work to our community! It is so good to have our galleries open again.