Anne Neilson Fine Art | 1/12-2/18 | Charlotte, NC

Artful Illumination

An upcoming show at Anne Neilson Fine Art brings together three artists driven by a fascination with the dramatic effects of shadow and light

An upcoming show at Anne Neilson Fine Art brings together three artists whose compositions emerge out of dramatic contrasts between light and dark.

The exhibition, entitled Chiaroscuro, features the work of Mary Calengor, Stephanie Neely and Dawne Raulet, all of whom create timeless pieces that appear to be illuminated from within.Stephanie Neely, Thayer’s Roses, oil on canvas, 24 x 30"

“Chiaroscuro is a term that all of us art history aficionados are familiar with,” says gallery director Logan Sutton. “Great Masters such as Caravaggio, da Vinci, and Rembrandt enter our minds immediately. If you are unfamiliar with the term, think of a time you’ve passed a painting in a museum with such stark contrast that it almost seemed candlelit.”Stephanie Neely, a self-taught artist heavily influenced by the old Dutch masters, works primarily in oil pastel and oils to create still life and floral compositions deeply rooted in Catholic symbolism.

“An encounter with a particularly glorious rose garden located outside the Catholic Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, sealed the deal,” explains Neely. “My work has centered exclusively on botanical subject matter since that time. Still life provided an occasion to…combine the products of human creative effort such as pottery or glass with elements of the natural world.”Mary Calengor, Tale of Two Artists, oil on canvas, 48 x 48"

Neely first encountered Abbott Handerson Thayer’s (1849-1921) Roses in a Smithsonian exhibition. “I found the beauty and simplicity of the vase of roses…to be the show stopper. I decided to interpret it for Anne Neilson’s Chiaroscuro show by combining the imagery of Thayer with the lighting techniques of Caravaggio.”

Mary Calengor sketched alongside her artist father in his studio from a very young age. Her pieces are simultaneously stark and warm, and rich with meticulous detail that brings them to life.

“All of my work is very dramatically lit to create the stark contrast that I am drawn to,” says Calengor. “The shadows become very much a part of the composition and the highlights bring out all the details in the subject. I love that drama.”

Japanese Wedding Basket exemplifies Calengor’s skill at capturing the subtle and powerful nature of light.Dawne Raulet, On The Prowl, mixed media on panel, 36 x 36"“I am fascinated, as with most of my subjects, with the journey this piece has taken to get to me,” she says.

Her piece Tale of Two Artists also has a long, storied past. In the 1950s, Calengor’s father, also an artist, was dispatched to work at NATO’s headquarters in France. Before he and his wife returned to the U.S., their landlord gave him a gift. “This art box belonged to the owner’s [late] husband and she gave it to my father who had it engraved with his name and has kept it in his studio for 60 years. The box itself is over a century old and covered in the paint of two artists.”

Dawne Raulet’s multi-media pieces utilize layers of acrylic, resin, wax and photography to capture a wide range of subject matter from wildlife, like the lioness pictured here, to inanimate objects like a pair of dusty cowboy boots. Despite the lack of a contextual background, all of her subject matter emanates a glow that draws attention to a mood and narrative.Mary Calengor, Japanese Wedding Basket, oil on linen, 48 x 36"“By not showing the space in which my subject dwells, I hope to convey a sense of awe and wonder for this beautiful creature, as well as a sense of drama and mystery,” explains Raulet.