When Gilles Mascarell stopped by Gallery G to have his work framed, owner and curator Nancy Graboski nabbed him.
“I asked if he was interested in showing [at the gallery,]” Graboski said. “I was really taken with his work. It?s very fresh and raw, and his play with color and line is really stunning.”
Viewers can see Mascarell?s drawings and paintings among paintings, photographs, textiles, jewelry and sculptures from 50 other artists in Gallery G?s Holiday Show.
Mascarell describes his acrylics, pastels, chalk and pencil on paper and wood as “very visceral and spur of the moment” which depict a moment, emotion or thought.
To safeguard his instinctual, creative process, Mascarell works on an automatic level.
“I try to clear my mind and to reduce my thoughts to a pure state. I don?t want to think about what?s happening, my influences and where I?m going. I compose as I go, yes, but maintain a certain freedom when I?m not too aware [of my process.],” he said.
Striking a balance between the exhibiting artists, varying in style from abstract to realism was difficult, Graboski said. “It was a challenge putting 50 works side-by-side and having them echo each other.”
Deborah Patterson?s paintings in the Holiday Show depict two barns in northern Baltimore County, where residents are rapidly feeling the effects of urban sprawl, she said. “I was trying to ?illuminate? the tension between artificial, manmade light and the beauty of natural light.”
Patterson captures light with a stunning effect, Graboski said. “Each piece just glows with an ambiance.”
When asked if a watershed moment greatly influenced her work, Patterson replied: “It might even be the a-ha moments that defines what it means to be an artist in the first place. In other words, a burning desire to create that simply cannot be ignored. It is certainly what drives me.”
IF YOU GO
Holiday 2007 Group Show
WHERE: Gallery G
711 W. 40th Street, Baltimore
WHEN: Through Dec. 29
INFO: 410-235-9060
