Art Notes

Surrealism For The Holidays

originally published December 14, 2005

The end of the year nears, the holidays are at hand, and art is everywhere. So much has happened; so much good art has come and gone. And even more is yet to come. Winter weather does not deter the dedicated artists of Athens!

Fire!: Many artists have a second job to put food on the table. Shane Gorla is a fireman. Working with the DeKalb County Fire Department, he is able to free up large blocks of time to paint. He currently has paintings on display in Five Points at The Strand, until the first of next year. Gorla’s work consists of portraits, still-lifes and figurative surrealism, a term he uses to describe his abstracted figures which look as much like flora as they do fauna. The diversity of subject matter illustrates Gorla’s broad range of talents. Even when the artist jumps from a still-life with a rifle and army boots as its subject, to a colorful anthropomorphic image of a tree, there is a consistency in the paint-handling and a consistency in the vibrant palette, particularly in Gorla’s unusual use of red as a highlighting device. Gorla has been a serious art student most of his life. He studied art at the Northern Virginia Community College and completed a degree in Fine Arts from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, even while working with the Defense Intelligence Agency and as a police officer in Atlanta, before transferring to the fire department. One of the most exciting pieces in the show is a portrait of a fireman taken from a photograph. There is such character in the man’s face. Gorla’s most recent paintings are taken from photographs of skaters “catching air” at the Skate Park of Athens. This work is on view in Gorla’s open studio in the Leathers Building on Pulaski Street.

Delicate Surrealism: Greg Carlson has been painting since he was four, when he got his first set of finger paints. His painting skills have come a long way since then. In his work at Jittery Joe’s in Five Points, he uses a subtractive watercolor technique, putting the paint on thick, then removing the excess. This is a laborious process, and it takes months to finish one piece. Carlson paints everything three times. He starts with a pencil drawing. Then he transfers the image to watercolor paper and blocks out the colors in mixed media. (The result of this second step is sent to his mom in Connecticut.) The third step is painted in watercolor on Arches 140-lb. cold-pressed paper. If a painting takes him too long, the artist admits to becoming frustrated with his work, and destroying an unfinished piece. He says that he works on one piece at a time, in a solitary fashion, without doing anything else. Carlson imagines his paintings as finished product before ever starting a piece; he does not allow the creative flow to interfere with the desired goal. Salvador Dalí is a strong influence on Carlson, both in imagery and paint-mixing ideas. Carlson’s images of nuclear explosions and distorted figures in isolated landscapes are evidence of this inspiration. For example, “Plight of a Barren Woman” (on this week’s cover) depicts a woman holding a sack with two fetuses in it. Carlson lives and works as a graphic designer in Athens. He moved here five years ago from Seattle and his next project will be a series of 23 paintings, each in the form of a four-foot square, depicting the book of Revelations from the Bible. Carlson expects the project to take five years to complete. Most of the work at Jittery Joe’s can be seen in his “Gallery of Crap,” online at www.eldertreecreations.faithweb.com.

Family Affair: Erika Swinson recently exhibited sculptures in a Senior Exit Show, at the Thompson Gallery on South Thomas Street. The artist states that her work deals with her experiences as a lesbian. While the subject matter may seem controversial to some, the majority of the pieces appeared friendly and playful. With bright primary colors drawn from the rainbow flag, Swinson cast multiples of her left hand in wax to create “Marry Me.” This piece deals with gay marriage rights. “Dyke March” also utilizes multiples. The artist created many small people out of resin, each resembling a child’s toy. The apparel of the figures addresses issues of identity and identification in gay culture. Even the sculptures with blatant sexual content, such as “Caged Beaver” and “La Femme,” retain a sense of innocence that undermines the issues of pornography and feminine sexuality written about in the accompanying text. Swinson has a strong message that powers her artwork. Perhaps communicating this message is as important to the artist as the art.

Endnotes: Jeff Owens has work up at Flicker Theater and Bar on Washington Street. This show should not be missed. What’s all the commotion at the Georgia Museum of Art? The work for the upcoming show, called “Streamlined,” is so smokin’ that the fire department had to check it out. The Lowery Gallery in Danielsville has opened a new show titled “Pigs,” which features work by many local and regional artists. Visit www.lowerygallery.com.

Beth Sale Share the good news and let us know when you’re showing your work around town. Email your art news to outthere@flagpole.com, and put “Art Notes” in the subject heading.

Beth Sale

Share the good news and let us know when you’re showing your work around town. Email your art news to outthere@flagpole.com, and put “Art Notes” in the subject heading.