Beginning early August, four artists come together for the Wally Workman Gallery show Realism. Tracey Harris, James Andrew Smith, along with husband and wife Sara and Shane Scribner, demonstrate their skills in realistic subjects like the figure and still life, while also communicating spirit, meaning and insight.
James Andrew Smith, Silent Glow, oil on canvas, 60 x 40"
“This group show is a wonderful opportunity to see how different artists, using very similar techniques, can create varying moods and perspectives,” explains gallery partner Rachel Stephens. “In this show, realism, simply by depicting the objects around us is able to evoke humor, grace and elegance.”
Still life painter Smith focuses on flowers as his main subject for the show—certainly a favorite for the artist. For his oil Silent Glow,he shares: “I was drawn to the rich, velvety crimson of the amaryllis blossom. I often stage florals in reflective glass vases to capture light and reflections, but for this painting, I liked the contrast between the organized geometric pattern of the pot with the organic bend of the petals.”
Tracey Harris, Current Mood, a Little Something to Take the Edge Off, oil on panel, 30 x 24"
With the theme of the show centered around “seeing” and communicating through paint what is “seen,” Smith notes, “then this piece is an invitation to the viewer to ‘see’ alongside me. As I am painting, I want to look carefully at the slow arc of the stem, or the branching of the leaves and their subtle shadows… I have found that light is central to my work, and working to capture light and luminosity is the core of my efforts as a still life artist.” Harris, also enjoys still life as her main subject matter, but often employs the human figure into her scenes. Her show piece Current Mood, a Little Something to Take the Edge Off, plays off a common theme Harris calls “small rebellion,” where she “stretches the boundaries of how women are depicted in paintings.” She explains, “I feel the ‘stereotypical object’ of the female form deserves to be seen as an active subject with a broad range of behaviors outside of a ‘passive object.’ I do so with humor and transgressive tongue-in-cheek subject matter.”
Sara Scribner, Shane, oil on aluminum, 20 x 21"
In Current Mood, we see Harris’s ability to express the complexity of human emotion. “I believe in a universal ideation that we all have at times—blowing shit up without fear and changing the world,” she says. ‘The fantasy of calmly lighting a cigar on a Molotov cocktail seems delightful!”
For both Sara and Shane Scribner, viewers will see their realism talents expressed in portraiture and the human figure. Sara’s painting Shane, depicting her husband, is part of a series called At My Table.“The idea…is to have people sit across my table and tell me something about themselves, bring an object that is important to them or just be with me for awhile,” she says. “In this case, Shane brought his camera. He finds his camera important because that is the way he finds beauty in the world. I added the flowers to represent the beauty he brings to my world.”
Shane Scribner, Shelter, oil on aluminum, 16 x 17"
Shane takes a more intimate approach in Shelter, executed to “capture the feeling of safety and love you can find in your partner,” the artist shares. The highly realistic painting shows a male and female figure, close up, caught in a loving embrace.
The Realism group show, hosted at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, Texas, will feature approximately 20 works. The show opens August 5, with an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m., and will hang through September 3. —
Wally Workman Gallery 1202 W. 6th Street • Austin, TX 78703 • (512) 472-7428 www.wallyworkmangallery.com
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