For the full month of September, Principle Gallery hosts its 10th Anniversaryexhibition at the Charleston, South Carolina, location. The exhibition will highlight over 30 impressive pieces of artwork by around 15 of the gallery’s signature artists in a variety of subject matter and theme—all in celebration of both the gallery’s decade long service in offering contemporary and classical realism, and the many talented artists that have graced the walls.
Mark Laguë, Charleston Churches, oil on canvas, 40 x 40"
“The genius behind Principle Gallery is our artists,” shares Frank Conrad Russen, gallery director. “The past 10 years flew by because of their dedication, support and passion in working with us. My job as director would not exist without these fantastic individuals. We will be featuring a curated selection of signature paintings by noted national and international artists who have been with the gallery for the 10 years we’ve been in business. This list includes Geoffrey Johnson, Colin Fraser, Mark Laguë, Nicolas Martin, Carlos Morago, Lynn Boggess, Christine Lashley, Kyle Sutckey, Michele Kortbawi Wilk, Anna Wypych, Maya Kulenovic, Karen Hollingsworth and many more.”
Christine Lashley, Blue Water Shallows, oil on canvas, 24 x 48"
Attendees to the exhibition will find paintings that capture the scenery of the Charleston area, in addition to works that reflect the themes and styles for which the artists are best known. Christine Lashley’s waterscape oil painting Blue Water Shallows, depicts a scene from the Charleston waterway. “[This piece] is a new painting of a favorite motif of mine,” the artist notes. “Water, transparency and the subtle shifts of light on a watery landscape have fascinated me for a long time.”
Lashley continues, “To create artwork for the gallery and learn more about Charleston and the surrounding natural water areas, the gallery suggested I come visit and paint for a week. On location, watercolor sketches and photos enabled me to lock in some color notes essential for capturing the subtle or dramatic shifts in color to create the authentic feel of the water’s edge. I wanted to create the scene in a large format to show the vast horizon of the marsh, yet allow the viewer to see into the shallow waters.”
France Jodoin, The West Wind Whispered and Touched the Eyelids of Spring, oil on linen, 60 x 54"
Mark Laguë presents a piece in the style of which he’s most known—a contemporary urban landscape. “The most important consideration when composing Charleston Churches was that it be an aerial, from a drone view of the historic city,” he explains of his show piece. “The quaint, yet spectacular architecture serves as the perfect foil, set against all of the greenery.”
Laguë feels that the most important elements of his work are his consolidation of values, and his loose, yet accurate brushwork. “For me, it’s very important to not tell the whole story,” he says. “I feel a painting is much more interesting when the viewer is left to fill in the details with their imagination than when a work is over-rendered.”
Jeremy Mann, Sapphire, oil on panel, 20 x 16"
While artist France Jodoin has been focused on maritime scenes, “where you find ships in vast spaces of sky and water,” over the years she has added to her subject matter to include florals—seen in her Principle show piece The West Wind Whispered and Touched the Eyelids of Spring.
“Of all the subjects I paint,” Jodoin says, “florals give me the most freedom because there are basically no boundaries involved in the choice of colors, height and width of the subject, and what it must represent. Whereas with my other subjects, even though they navigate between the abstract and the figurative—architectures, figures on beaches, boats—I am bound by certain criteria I must respect if I want to depict an image the viewer will recognize. But with florals, I find no need to represent a particular flower—simply a floral scene.”
Geoffrey Johnson, Nine People, oil on canvas, 54 x 54"
Artist Geoffrey Johnson has selected a fine example from his catalog of figurative work for the show, as in his oil painting Nine People. “This work is a continuation of looking at the shape/form of figures in a neutral space, while I’m most notably known for urban, landscape and interior scenes,” he shares. “I like high contrast images—strong in light and dark. I try to bring that element to whatever I’m painting. Overall, my work is more impressionistic than anything. I’m not interested in painting realistically, yet I don’t want to divert or get away from representationalism…”
Konstantinos Kyrtis, Introvert, oil on linen, 19¾ x 19¾"
Find these exceptional pieces of work and many more at Principle Gallery’s 10th Anniversary celebration exhibition running from September 1 through 30. An opening reception will be held on Friday, September 8 from 5 to 8 p.m. —
Principle Gallery, 125 Meeting Street • Charleston, SC 29401 • (843) 727-4500 • www.principlegallery.com
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