Emerging Artist Show-ANNE IRWIN FINE ART, Atlanta

This time of year usually finds me in a depressed state. Sad that I am not in Provincetown and unhappy that Summer is ending, I hibernate at home. This year is different. I had an incredible Provincetown Summer and came home rejuvenated, inspired, and ready.....ready to dive head first into exciting projects that I have going on, particularly with the super talented artists that I work with as their agent. And I came back ready to see the Atlanta art world and to become a part of that world. At the top of the to-do list upon return was to get to ANNE IRWIN FINE ART on Miami Circle in Atlanta to to see the fifth annual Emerging Artist Show which, this year, includes one of "my" artists--the insanely talented KELLI KAUFMAN who is having a heck of a wonderful year. Upon receipt of Kelli's submissions for this juried show, one of Kelli's pieces landed at the top of the invitation/promo flyer for this show:

Anne Irwin and Emily West have mounted a major endeavor of a show featuring 120 pieces by artists from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana (Kelli Kaufman), California and Canada. The show is beautiful as this photo from Anne Irwin Fine Art shows:

Prices of pieces in the show scale from $ 200-$ 2,000 making it accessible to all art lovers and most pieces fall into the $ 200-1,000 range. For new collectors, an emerging artist show like this is a great way to discover artists whose work you love and can afford. By accepting up to four pieces by each artist, the show presents a small body of work by each artist rather than just one piece. For someone looking at new, to the viewer at least, artists, this type of show is not to be missed.

My goal in visiting ANNE IRWIN FINE ART as soon as I could upon return to Atlanta, was to select five artists whose total submissions equalled the best. I will revisit the show to pick my favorite individual pieces by artists and that might include additional artists but, for now, here are the five artists that wowed me with their grouping of pieces featured in the show.

KELLI KAUFMAN:

As Kelli Kaufman's agent, I could not be more proud of what has been accomplished in the time that we have worked together. Kelli gets stronger and stronger as an artist in every piece that she completes and the pieces that Anne and Emily selected are proof of that. Kelli, hands down, wins for best landscapes and best colorist in the Anne Irwin show! Here is her grouping on the wall of the gallery:

And here are the strongest two by Kelli Kaufman:

Kelli Kaufman

Lafayette, LA

Still Waters at Dusk

Oil and Wax on Canvas, framed

16" x 20"

$ 650.00

Kelli Kaufman

Lafayette, LA

Placid Marsh

Oil and Wax on Canvas, framed

18" x 24"

$ 825.00

Spend some time on Kelli's website, www.kellikaufman, and you will see why Kelli is achieving great success. She deserves every bit of that success as her work is unique and very, very special.

HELEN FERGUSON CRAWFORD:

Best abstract pieces in the show...no competition: Helen Ferguson Crawford. WOW! This is exactly why shows like the one at Anne Irwin are important for artists and collectors. I came away from Anne Irwin Fine Art wanting to know more about and see more work by Helen Ferguson Crawford and spent some time on Helen's website and blog. A blog post on a studio visit with this artist will definitely be coming soon. Here is the grouping in the show:

Through Helen's blog ,www.helenfergusoncrawford.blogspot.com, I was able to get images of the two strongest pieces and see details of these pieces which are from a series of work called "the lure of empty places, field" and about "the edges of things". These pieces are definitely luring!

Helen Ferguson Crawford

Atlanta, GA

Beggar

Oil, Acrylic, and Graphite on Canvas

24" x 24"

$ 900.00

Helen Ferguson Crawford

Atlanta, GA

Tight as Cloth

Oil, Acrylic, and Graphite on Canvas

24" x 24"

$ 900.00

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Rounding out the best five groupings in the show are three Georgia artists whose work is quite traditional yet presents something different than most of their peers in the genre in which the work fits.

They are:

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ALLAN STRULETZ:

I found this piece particularly inviting as I was reminded of the land of beautiful marshes from which I just came:

Allan Struletz

Marietta, GA

All in a Day's Work

Oil on Canvas

18" x 24"

$ 725.00

GINNY LANE:

There is something very fresh about Ginny Lane's work and different than many landscapes by Southern artists. A little research let me know why. Ginny Lane spends time in Maine which provides great inspiration and sources of views like the one captured in this gem of a painting of Seal Cove in Maine.

Ginny Lane

Marietta, GA

Seal Cove

Oil on Canvas

10" x 20"

$ 300.00

SHERYL LOTT:

In the super traditional realm of subject matter, Sheryl Lott's work certainly exhibits a deft hand and sense of color particularly in these two pieces and specifically in the bottom piece:

Sheryl Lott

Douglas, GA and Lake Oconee/Greensboro, GA

Aqua Beach Umbrella

Oil on Canvas

11" x 14"

$ 575.00

ANNE IRWIN FINE ART was packed on opening night as seen in this photo with KELLI KAUFMAN's pieces at center stage....

....and with a show as excellent as this one is, the gallery should be packed from now until August 31st when the show comes down. If you are in Atlanta between now and then, be sure to stop by ANNE IRWIN FINE ART to see this show! For information on any piece featured in this post, contact me at jefferymccullough@hotmail.com or Anne Irwin Fine Art at staff@anneirwinfineart.com

ANNE IRWIN FINE ART

690 Miami Circle #150

Atlanta, GA 30324

404.467.1200

Four Eleven Studios-One of Provincetown's Best Galleries-featuring Helen Grimm and Liz Carney

On Friday night we stopped by Four Eleven Studio in Provincetown for the opening reception for new work by Helen Grimm, a Cape Cod artist whose work I became aware of a couple of summers ago. Helen's work makes me happy. Plain and simple. And for me that is reason enough to look at a painting over and over.

Each year, Liz Carney, artist and arts organization director, mounts shows that keep me paying attention to what she is doing at the lovely little gallery at 411 Commercial Street in the East End Gallery District. Whether it was the Carney family--they are ALL super talented with strong creative genes in the blood lines-- exhibition a couple of Summers ago or the annual Bear Week celebration show, there is always something good going on at Four Eleven Studio.

I was greeted on Friday night by the lovely Liz and these fantastic new pieces by Helen Grimm.

Colorful and full of good energy, the work of Helen Grimm captures the emotion and movement that Provincetown is full of and, I think, Grimm is doing something different than many of the painters of this area of Cape Cod. Sure, there is a nod to the Cape Cod School of Art particularly in the palette used in her dune scapes, but her work is more than that. The pieces are not about the colors, which I think some artists use as a gimmick to give their work that "P-town art" vibe, but are about a feeling that one gets when walking through the dunes to get to the beach or on a dune tour or simply sitting at the edge of the dunes looking towards the sea. And I love the framing which seems representative of the simple wood slat dune fences at the beach holding it all together and protecting the dunes in a way that frames the view of the dunes as one looks at them.

About this Truro, MA, artist from a Four Eleven Studio description:

"Throughout her career Helen Grimm has been drawn to the color, texture and repetition of abstracted forms. Her most recent paintings explore the landscapes of the Outer Cape. Grounded by their influence in the natural world, her paintings are a joyful expression of color and shifting rhythm."

I found that when looking up what town on the Cape Helen is from. I think that last line perfectly supports and sums up what I wrote in the prior paragraph!

Here are my three favorite Helen Grimm pieces in the current show:

Helen Grimm

Towards Emily, 2013

Oil on Canvas, framed

8" x 10"

$ 475.00

Helen Grimm

Towards Beach Path, 2013

Oil on Canvas, framed

8" x 10"

$ 475.00

The piece from the exhibition card at top of this post:

Helen Grimm

Vertical Dune, 2013

Oil on Linen, framed

24" x 30"

$ 1,900.00

Although the current exhibition is all about Helen Grimm's great new work, I had to get into the Liz Carney corner. Liz Carney is a brilliant artist who, fortunately, is in our collection. Liz captures so much in her work. I know her, I like her, I feel her. And she, the person, comes through in her work. Liz deserves her own blog post and will get one soon. For now, here is some of her brilliance currently tucked away in the right corner of the gallery...

Henry likes this piece as much as I do and was guarding it on Friday night:

Liz Carney

East End Houses

Acrylic and Graphite on Canvas

36" x 36"

$ 2,200.00

There is a companion or rather, a precursor and a mate, to this fantastic piece. The story is Liz's to tell. If you know Liz and stop by Four Eleven Studio, ask her about it. The story and both paintings are beautiful.

Liz Carney

Family

Acrylic on Panel

36" x 36"

$ 2,200.00

After a lovely visit with Liz and experiencing both Liz and Helen's work, we walked down to Alden Gallery to see Joerg Dressler's amazing new work...more on that in an upcoming blogpost.

As we walked past Four Eleven Studio about an hour later and I saw the Helen Grimm dune scape hanging in the window and Liz Carney's flower piece on the wall I thought, "all is well and it all works." It does. And Four Eleven Studio is a not to be missed Provincetown gallery.

www.fourelevenstudio.com