Zi Felton

During my art walk experience I came into a gallery that showcased work by various artists all over the city.  The Gallery was named Project Sketch Book.  The gallery space was huge and included a live band as people stood side by side in order look at the works of art hanging by string on the wall.

The first sketchbook I looked at was one submitted by Greg Haller, a student from MCA.  The designs within the sketchbook were amazing.  They were very small, yet very intricate lines forming incredible geometric designs.  The sketchbook pages were done in ink

The second sketchbook was done by an artist known as Michelle Duckworth.  Her illustrations were absolutely beautiful.  The illustrations were done in watercolor.  One was of a girl coming out of a flower and following some very strange looking turtle frogs.  The colors used in this piece were yellow, orange, and green.

The last sketchbook was one from Joel Priddy.  This sketchbook was perfect.  The composition was very interesting.  There is a town in the middle ground.  There is absolutely no shading in this piece.  He adds depth by the thickness of line.  The background of this piece is black.  In the foreground the is a hand whose sleeve is transparent and we are able to see the town through it.

Memphis is full of art and I enjoy being able to attend galleries and shows.  Weather you enjoy socializing with others, fluttering from gallery to gallery, or simply taking pleasure in the colorful atmosphere and the smells of good food emanating from nearby restaurants you will love the Memphis; art openings.  There are ten galleries open some containing sculptures, others paintings and still others containing a mixture of the two.

The release gallery was very interesting.  I really enjoyed seeing the temporary exhibit that would later be destroyed.  The space was small a dim.  The pieces were hung on the wall and were hung in a viewer friendly fashion meaning I could touch them.  Many of them were hung so that the viewer had to touch them; therefore the viewer had to be more interactive with the work. There were many things that had sentimental values to whoever submitted them into the gallery.

One of these items that would later on be released or torched was a love letter addressed to James.  The letter was written in very big beautiful cursive writing.  There was a kiss stain in pink glittery lip gloss on the top flap.  Though the letter was in good condition it looked old, the ink had started to fade a little and the color of the paper had begun to brown a little.  Tied to this love letter was a breakup letter addressed to James presumably by the same person.

I found this to interesting because of the content within each letter and the fact that the letter was here on display, and about to be released.  This of all the pieces that were hung on the gallery wall had the obvious sentimental value that may or may not be suitable for the release exhibit.  Because of the obvious value this piece had to the submitter I benefited from the exhibit.

I’ve gone to Anthony Lee’s gallery on Marshall Ave.  The gallery is very spacious and bright.  His new series of abstract pieces are hanging beautifully on the walls.  To the left are warm toned pieces and to the right are pieces with cooler tones. 

Each piece uses color in a spectacular manner.  One has warm tones, which have been dulled down to an almost neutral color in the background.  In the middle ground there are cool colors that have also been dulled down.  In the foreground there are occasional circles of unsullied paint that makes the paintings pop. The uses of these colors almost create a sense of dept until you realize some of the warm background overlaps the cool foreground.

Not only does he experiment with color in this new series, he also experiments with straight and curved lines.  The pieces seem to ask what happens when straight lines intersect rounded lines and circles. The straight lines give the impression of guiding our eyes through the composition while the curved lines direct our eyes around the entire artwork.

One of his older pieces were hanging in his office where I had the opportunity to get a glimpse of this magnificent piece.  His office is a small lounge with lots of character.  There is bright color everywhere.  It has a very cozy feel to it.  On his wall behind his couch is where the great painting rests.

The name of this piece is Conductive Production.  This piece uses analogous colors that create depth within the artwork.  The way the cool colors are put into the background and the warm colors on top also help create the illusion of depth.  The neon yellows and greens are very bright and give a burst of energy throughout the piece.  

There are warm colored circles at the top of the piece and cool colored circles at the bottom, which move our eyes around the art.  There is only one figure whom is enlarged and directly in the foreground.  Because he is enlarged he is the first thing we see, he is our attention getter.  Though the figure takes up most of the right side, the bus in the middle ground as well as the sun and the buildings balances the piece.