Opening on April
15, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 15
from 2 – 5pm
Visions of Nature, an exhibition
featuring 10 new acrylic paintings from Santa Fe-based artist Brad Stroman,
opens at Grovewood Gallery on Saturday, April 15, 2017. An opening reception,
with the artist in attendance, will take place from 2 – 5pm (free and open to
the public). Visions of Nature will
remain on view through Sunday, May 21, 2017.
Brad Stroman’s work focuses on the
small, incidental natural objects that we often pass over in our everyday
activities – a crinkled leaf, a torn feather, an abandoned nest, a worn stone.
He makes a conscious effort to honor the mundane and incidental and to capture
the simple and understated beauty in nature.
Brad’s acrylic paintings contain
exquisitely detailed renderings of these natural objects, usually trapped or
otherwise held in place by something commonly created by man – a string, barbed
wire, a piece of rusted iron tool. These objects, which have the illusion of
being three-dimensional, are placed against a backdrop of beautifully balanced
colors that have been textured and stained to create the appearance of a time
worn surface. The natural and man-made items play out their balancing act on
the painted stage.
A common element found in all of
Brad’s paintings is a circle. “The circle has been and continues to be a very
profound symbol for indigenous peoples around the world,” says Brad. “It stands
for unity and harmony and because we seem to have lost a connection with nature
that primitive cultures enjoyed, I deliberately break up or wear away the
circle in the painting to show the disconnection we now have with nature.”
A recent move to Santa Fe, New Mexico
has also influenced Brad’s latest body of work. He says, “It's been less than 2
years since I left Asheville for Santa Fe. My new environs have influenced my
paintings with the intense colors of the Southwest - the dazzling reds and
oranges, the adobe tans, and those luscious turquoise and sky blue hues.”
Brad’s nature-inspired paintings have
garnered acclaim from environmentalists and art lovers alike. His work has been
exhibited throughout the United States and can be found in nearly 100 private
and corporate collections worldwide, including the permanent collection of the
Cherokee Indian Hospital in Cherokee, North Carolina.
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