 |
Email PageElizabeth O’Reilly 2007
November 6, 2007- December 8, 2007
Reception: November 8, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Elizabeth O’Reilly
George Billis Gallery
511 W 25th StElizabeth O’Reilly will exhibit her oil paintings and collages in her sixth solo exhibition at the George Billis Gallery, 511 W. 25 St. between 10th and 11th Avenues from November 6 - December 8, 2007. An artist's reception will be held at the gallery on Thursday, November 8th, from 6 - 8 p.m. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Elizabeth O’Reilly’s latest paintings and collages are united by a marriage of industry and nature. The artist draws inspiration from single, brightly colored man-made structures, set in a natural landscape. O’Reilly renders her subjects minimally. She states, “simplicity has always been a goal, to pare things down to an essence; to eliminate detail in pursuit of a more abstract arrangement of shapes.”
Her focus also lies in the transformative effects of light, both natural and artificial. Afternoon light brings flickering shadows of trees and foliage across a teal-colored shed in the North Fork of Long Island, and a long disused gas station on Shelter Island casts long shadows across the grass. In the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn, as well as the in Vermont, O’Reilly is intrigued by painting at night. Of these works, the artist states, “I try to understand and convey what artificial light does as it emanates from a window or a street-light to throw just a touch of illumination onto a nightscape of subtle, dark, value shifts.”
O’Reilly is a dedicated plein air painter, drawn by the physical challenges the practice demands. The technique gives her work a sense of immediacy. The artist states, “Once I have found my motif, the painting takes its own path and I become preoccupied with pushing wet paint around, until the dabs and dots re-create what is in front of me and what drew me there.” Mario Naves said of her work in the New York Sun, “Elizabeth O’Reilly proves herself the envy of anyone who’s ever been flummoxed by oil paint. In her small works on panel, the famously difficult medium is rendered curt and supple.”
O’Reilly’s oil paintings provided the starting point for a new series of collages, created cut and pasted watercolor paper. “The process demands simplification and emphasizes geometry, color and composition. Cityscapes are fundamentally complex, whilst the collage process begs for simplicity” the artists states.
Elizabeth O’Reilly received her MFA from Brooklyn College, New York, and her B.Ed from the National University of Ireland. She has participated in residencies at the Ballinglen Foundation, Ireland, the Ucross Foundation, Wyoming and the Ragdale Foundation, Illinois, and has received a grant from the Pollock Krasner Foundation. A documentary on her work was shown on the Irish TV network, TG4 in 2002.
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show
|
 | |||||||||||||||
George Billis Gallery was last updated: 2008-10-11
Update general information with the Gallery Editor.
Update shows with the Exhibition Manager.
Update inventory with the Inventory Manager.
Update general information with the Gallery Editor.
Update shows with the Exhibition Manager.
Update inventory with the Inventory Manager.
|
© 2005-2008 chelseaartgalleries.com | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
| Site Map |
