Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Jan. 30, 2009, edition 1 / Page 7
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F E ATU RE S 7 WWW.GUlLFORDlAN.COM Hege Red Earth, 2008 Tissue (Time), 2008 OPENS PAINTING INTO UGHT EXHIBIT Our Town, 2005 Do a Verb, 2005 Serendipity, 2005 Peer Pressure, 2005 Denial, 2005 Second Chance, 2005 By Marin Kupper Staff Writer The Guilford bell chimed five times from the apex of Founder's Hall, echoing across the crisp wintry air of the quad, and without intending to, signaled the opening of the new art exhibit: "painting into light" by George Wingate. People trickled into tlie Hege Library art gallery: art appreciators as well as the hungry students who eyed the luxurious brie cheese in utter anticipation. The exhibit debuted on Jan. 22 and will stay up until Mar. 4. The curators. Director and Curator of Art Gallery Terry Hammond, and Kelsey McMillan'08, selected 59 pieces for the show, three of which Assistant Professor of Art David Newton, a long-time comrade of Wing ate, donated. Wingate has exhibited extensively in Amer ica, but Newton explained that his goal is not to be a commercial artist. "He creates because he has to," Newton said. "He can turn out a completed a piece in a day. Tve seen amazing work come out of his mortal combat with a brush." A statement from Wingate hung on the gal lery wall reiterated his personal views about struggling. "The artist has to fight to not be what he/ she was yesterday," said Wingate. "Self-imita tion is a road to commercial art, at best, but not to making of artifacts which are the manifesta tions of the meeting of transitory Time and the person." Wingate's exhibit includes an array of work ranging from landscapes, to realistic common place items, to portraits. His most recent work features a series of abstract paintings rooted in the essence of landscape that tend towards non-representational imagery. "I'm very impressed by the range of work," said Assistant Professor of Art Kathryn Shields in an e-mail interview. "Each piece seemed like its own little world, or a glimpse into a slice of a moment." Both faculty and students responded to Wingate's unusual yet intriguing selection of subject matter. "Who would think to paint that?" said New ton, while peering at 'No Rules (from Rem brandt, at his window).' "Most people would try to paint the print, not the whole book that the print is in." Newton expressed that Wingate's diverse subject matter as well as his ability to combine technique and imagination make him a stellar example for Guilford art students. "Guilford students are really creative peo ple. If you tell some of them to think outside the box, you quickly find out that there is no box for them," said Newton. "The trick is for students to refine their technique, so that you as the viewer can tmst what you see. George's work you can trust." For students, the impact of Wingate's work will be more than purely aesthetic. He will teach a master landscape painting class Feb. 26 for Hege Professor of Art Adele Wayman's painting students, give an artist talk on Feb. 25 in the Hege gallery, and also spend time with the senior thesis students critiquing their work. "Just having another artist's voice will be incredibly helpful," said Susannah Goodman, a senior pottery major who is in the process of doing a thesis. "I already have a sense of what the professors in the department will say about my work, so it will be great to hear a different voice." According to Wayman, Wingate's critiques will not be his only contribution. "It will be valuable for students to get to know his work both formally by visiting the gallery, as well as informally by working with him," said Wayman. Beyond just the art students, Hammond highlighted how Wingate's work expresses a strong spiritual quality that the community can relate to and think about. "1 think he has that type of sensibility as an artist," said junior Mary Pearl Monnes, as a crowd of stu dents buzzed around, the hungry ones carry ing heaps of hummus and pita bread. "He sees character in objects that no one would notice, but that he thinks are very important for the viewer to notice—like the tissue box," refer ring to the piece "Tissue," the featured piece on the gallery advertisement. "He can take something so simple like the Kleenex box," said Hammond, "and turn it into something monumental."
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Jan. 30, 2009, edition 1
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