Some of them look like scenes pulled from the weathered pages of fairytale books and fables. Delicate, muted palettes, personified animals and elements of the whimsical and fantastic. These are the paintings that make up a new exhibition at Robert Lange Studios, giving voice to two of life’s small wonders: birds and bees. Artwork in the upcoming show will feature, of course, one of the two creatures—and possibly both together. While the works are all different from one another in style and content, they all feel connected, much like the birds and the bees themselves.
Emma Foster, The Beginning, oil on linen, with Caplain leaf and tarnished silver leaf, 26 x 16"As though coming straight from a fable, artist Robert Lange’s Eye to Eye presents us with a wonderful world in which a bunny, a bee and a bear can all hang out. The bear wears an almost human expression as it peers directly at the viewer—perhaps a look of delight that the rabbit perches comfortably atop his head.
Julie Beck, Our Wings Can Pause This Ripeness, oil on canvas panel, 16 x 12"
In Emma Foster’s The Beginning, a woman sits blindfolded on a white chair, surrounded by walls with peeling paint and a floor of decaying leaves. Behind her is a red-eyed white raven carrying a gold chain in its beak. “This piece was created towards the end of 2020, after lockdown and humanity coming to face the reality of our effect on the world. It shows decay of decadence, with the ripped and ruined wallpaper, with nature consuming and inhabiting our interiors,” says Foster. “The white crow represents rebirth, new beginnings, purification and regrowth. There is hope in this strange new world, with the tiny new seedling held in the figure’s hand.”
Taking Flight, by Anna Rose Bain, is a glowing flurry of golden hues and windswept sparrows.
Anna Rose Bain, Taking Flight, oil, 30 x 24"
“[This painting] depicts my 7-year-old daughter amongst the fall colors of the Colorado Rockies,” says Bain. “There is a flurry of movement as the aspen leaves, the girl’s hair and the sparrows flying by, all seem to be carried by the wind. I've used sparrows as an allegorical element in my work before. In a 2014 painting of my daughter as an infant learning to crawl, I posed her with a fledgling sparrow. In this latest work, we see her amidst a flock of full-grown sparrows in flight. It goes to show that the time we get to spend with our children while they are little truly does fly by, and it’s a privilege to know and care for them at every fleeting stage.”
Robert Lange, Eye to Eye, oil on panel, 24 x 24"Other artists exhibiting in The Birds and The Bees are Julie Beck, Denise Stewart-Sanabria, Barbara Kacicek, Brett Scheifflee and more. An opening night celebration takes place on October 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. Artwork will remain on view through the end of the month. —
Robert Lange Studios
2 Queen Street
Charleston, SC 29401 • (843) 805-8052
www.robertlangestudios.com
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