BRATTLEBORO-An exhibition of paintings by Mary Wright and Ellen Maddrey, "Sensing Landscape," is now on display at 118 Elliot, with an opening party planned for Saturday, Oct. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. The opening party will include live music and dosas made fresh on site by Dosa Kitchen Factory and Food Truck. The artists will be available to discuss their work. Attendees are invited to bring an instrument and join the music.
Wright and Maddrey share a studio in Wilmington, where, they say, they each approach painting as a process of discovery.
"Through a dialogue with the natural world, there is an understanding that painting goes beyond the visual; we 'see' with more than our eyes, sensing with our whole being, as we open ourselves to the influence of place and memory," organizers wrote in a news release. "The painter and the viewer are invited to discover, to wonder, to get close or stand back, to explore through color, texture, shape, space, feeling, and consciousness. In other words, allow your edges to blur and see what happens."
These artists say they share a process of allowing the paint to guide them. "Instead of starting with a specific image in mind, they allow their hands to start moving paint on the canvas or paper, and follow their senses of color, proportion, and feeling. Their paintings emerge from an effort to deepen the personal connection with our elemental home - plants, rocks, water, mountains, animals. Both artists have their own language of marks, yet they learn from each other and feel privileged to share creative space."
Wright lives in Jacksonville and draws from her relationship with the trails and water of Lake Whitingham. She is a lifelong artist, and her artwork and community-based projects have been shown throughout the United States since 1989. She expresses a keen interest in materiality, whether painting, printmaking, or metalsmithing.
Maddrey says her artistic inspiration is deeply embedded in the mountains and waters of Seattle - her childhood home - and the natural world of Vermont, where she has a second home. She finds a deep satisfaction with expression through oil paints and pastels and has been painting for about 10 years.
The gallery is open by appointment for private viewing through October. Contact them at 118Elliot@gmail.com, or visit 118elliot.com.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.