03/31/2012-04/29/2012
The C. William Gilchrist Museum of the Arts will present an exhibition by painter Mary Kollman and sculptor Kenny Braitman, March 30 through April 29, “Where Oil Meets Metal”. An artist’s reception will be held March 31 from 5-7PM. Refreshments will be served and Kollman and Braitman will be in attendance.
Mary Kollman is an International Artist currently showing in Cumberland. Kollman's paintings have been in galleries in Santa Fe, Sedona, Palm Desert, Denver, Seattle, Oregon, Maryland and Virginia. She's pleased to have been represented from coast to coast. Her paintings have been collected from people all over the world. She was thrilled to find private collectors shipping her paintings from Santa Fe to London, New York, and Texas. It warmed her heart to hear from another artist from Provincetown MA who bought a painting of hers in Santa Fe. “I am honored when another artist becomes a collector. We still trade e-mails keeping up on what we are doing."
Kenny Braitman is a metal sculptor and blacksmith working out of his Carey Run Forge in Frostburg. Kenny has shown in many local prestigious events and has won Best of Show several times. His contemporary sculptures are intriguing. The discovery of form often happens when working from one perspective then shifting view to another angle and finding new directions. “I’m interested in the tension and contrast rather than the easy and comfortable,” says Braitman. Applying traditional blacksmith techniques to contemporary design is an exciting challenge for Braitman. “My metalwork is a tangible result of my process of exploration, discovery, and trial and error/success. Sometimes, I go into my work with a deliberate intention and the results often take me places never anticipated and surely not reflecting the original intent or design. This divergence from intent is often a result of discovery or change of mind and sometimes the metal itself suggesting something different. Listening to the metal or the expression of the unconscious manifests itself frequently when I’m open to listening,” says Braitman.
This show will open the season for the Gilchrist. Kollman will have numerous paintings, with twelve of them new paintings specifically done for this show. Braitman sold out at the Art Sale and Tour last October and is pleased to have a new array of designs to show.
Kollman has lived from one coast to the other having grown up in Oregon and later making Seattle her home. She has been in Cumberland for the last year and continues to paint the landscape in her abstracted landscape style. "It's wonderful to live in different parts of the country. You can see the influence it's had on my painting," Kollman says. Her painting of Japanese Cheery Blossoms hung in an exhibit in the Alexandria City Hall for the "Around Town" show. Her work has also been shown at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria Virginia and locally at the Frostburg Museum, The Wild Goose Gallery, The Manhattan Golf and Gallery and with the Allegany Area Arts Alliance at the Rocky Gap Resort. Kollman’s paintings can be viewed on her website at www.marykollman.com.
Kollman works in oils with her "Big Sky" paintings and in lacquered enamel paint on aluminum boxes to produce her "Abstract Expressionism" paintings. She's discovered many ways to apply special effects to the lacquer enamel. "I absolutely love the colors that you can achieve with the lacquer enamel paint. I decided to add Chinese symbols to bring some meaning to the abstraction. The meaning of the symbol is in the title of the painting." The colors in the painting also evoke the meaning. See this dichotomy in color and movement of the paint in the paintings "Warrior" and "Peace." Braitman's contemporary sculptures are the perfect accompaniment to these paintings.
In December Mary was so inspired during travels to DC, Cape Cod and New York; she produced a series of paintings called "Where Sky and Water Meet." "When I first saw the Atlantic at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware earlier in the year, I was surprised at how calm the water was. I saw many small boats afloat and wanted to paint the more serene image of the east coast." But December in Cape Cod brought the big waves. “I was mesmerized and knew I needed to paint the eastern seaboard with some big waves to show the variety of landscape,” says Kollman.
Kollman is offering a twenty five percent discount at this show from her gallery pricing and has a time payment agreement. "The time payment has been helpful. It allows the collector to choose a reasonable length of the payment schedule and the amount they are able to pay monthly. I leave it up to the individual to choose what's comfortable for them. I hope that this is a viable solution to owning a painting," Kollman says.
Please join us with the opening reception of “Where Oil Meets Metal” on March 31 from 5-7PM, with the show continuing through April 29, at The C. William Gilchrist Museum of the Arts, located at 104 Washington Street in Cumberland.
