Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Taylor Museum for Southwestern Studies
Colorado Springs, CO
719-634-5581
http://www.csfineartscenter.org
Four Artists, Four Objects, Ten Years:
Janet Fish, Sondra Freckelton, Nancy Hagin, Harriet Shorr
From June 24th through August 27th,
2000, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center will exhibit "Four Artists,
Four Objects, Ten Years: Janet Fish, Sondra Freckelton, Nancy Hagin, Harriet
Shorr."
In
1986, four long-time friends embarked on a "game," each selecting
an object that they would all include in a still life composition. None
of the objects could have made a prior appearance in any of their previous
works, and all of the paintings were to remain out of view until the entire
quartet was completed. Ten years later, they repeated the exercise, and
the results illustrate not only the artistic development of these four prominent
still-life painters, but also demonstrate the stylistic variety and scope
of the genre. For these friends the sense of play in the artistic game which
they 
devised
is as exciting as the unique associations and forms suggested to them by
the same objects. Here we "discover" the results along with them.
In addition to the First Artist Project and Tenth Anniversary Project paintings,
both in watercolor and oils, are examples by each artist of work during
the intervening years. Their diverse styles and methods hint at their unique
personalities and perceptions, and the use of similar objects did not inhibit
their range of expression. The exhibition is accompanied by a color catalog
with an essay by art historian John Arthur. (left: Harriet Shorr,
After the Fall, 1996, 40 x 60 inches, 10th Anniversary Project; right:
Janet Fish, Just Say No, 1993, 48 1/2 x 62 1/2 inches)
The
well-known realist painters, Janet Fish, Sondra Freckelton, Nancy Hagin
and 
Harriet
Shorr felt, to quote Thomas Bolt in the July 1987 issue of "American
Artist," "the results would provide a wealth of diverse ideas
and tactics in theme and form, all turning on the fixed axis of the exchanged
objects...the fun of seeing the ways in which the artists might make certain
objects their own, as well as the range of imaginative solutions possible,
was further incentive." (left: Sondra Freckelton, Keepsakes
II, 1996, 10th Anniversary Project; right: Nancy Hagin, Music Stand,
1994, 60 x 48 inches)
On June 29th, at 6:30 p.m., the Colorado Springs Fine Arts
Center will present "Wine, Cheese and Fish," a gallery talk with
"Four Artists, Four Objects, Ten Years" artist, Janet Fish.
Read more about the Colorado Springs
Fine Arts Center / Taylor Museum in Resource
Library Magazine
Please click on thumbnail images bordered by a red line
to see enlargements.
This page was originally published in Resource
Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for
more information. rev. 3/2/11
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Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art.
Copyright 2011 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights
reserved.
In
1986, four long-time friends embarked on a "game," each selecting
an object that they would all include in a still life composition. None
of the objects could have made a prior appearance in any of their previous
works, and all of the paintings were to remain out of view until the entire
quartet was completed. Ten years later, they repeated the exercise, and
the results illustrate not only the artistic development of these four prominent
still-life painters, but also demonstrate the stylistic variety and scope
of the genre. For these friends the sense of play in the artistic game which
they 
devised
is as exciting as the unique associations and forms suggested to them by
the same objects. Here we "discover" the results along with them.
In addition to the First Artist Project and Tenth Anniversary Project paintings,
both in watercolor and oils, are examples by each artist of work during
the intervening years. Their diverse styles and methods hint at their unique
personalities and perceptions, and the use of similar objects did not inhibit
their range of expression. The exhibition is accompanied by a color catalog
with an essay by art historian John Arthur. (left: Harriet Shorr,
After the Fall, 1996, 40 x 60 inches, 10th Anniversary Project; right:
Janet Fish, Just Say No, 1993, 48 1/2 x 62 1/2 inches)
