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Opening
reception Saturday, May 24:
Meet
Marilu McCartney and Paul Schwengel in person at Charlene's Gallery Ten in Gills Rock from 3 to 5 PM. Click for a
podcast interview featuring Charlene Berg and Paul SchwengelGILLS ROCK, WI –
Charlene Berg at Gallery Ten in Gills Rock, is anticipating the
forthcoming summer art scene with a roster of ten
new local and
regional artists in featured solo-exhibits and the works of more than
100
other artists on display in her collection. An exhibit of
hand-painted
woodcuts by Oconomowoc’s Marilu McCartney and the photography of
Jacksonport’s Paul Schwengel are currently showing through June 5. On
Saturday, May 24 Charlene invites you to meet McCartney and Schwengel
in person at a gallery reception in their honor from 3 to 5 PM.
Marilu
McCartney early on, applied her visual talent commercially as
a
freelance artist and as a public school art teacher. But, the majority
of her career has been spent with an architectural design firm, focused
on manufacturing and home construction.
Her personal artistic
endeavors are centered on the creation of woodcut prints. Having
achieved a Masters Degree in Printmaking at UW Madison in the 60s, she
further pursued studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and the
University of Washington, Seattle.
“I enjoy the process of
cutting a drawing into wood because, no matter how carefully I plan it,
each particular piece of wood always has something itself to say about
my rendering of the final image,” she explains. “The subjects I choose
to draw reflect the different places I have lived, some for a short
visit and others for extended periods.”
She
captures what she sees around her, and then begins the printmaking
process by transferring the image to a block of plank-grained pine.
Then she starts the process of cutting it into the wood with a variety
chisels and carving knives. When the block is finished McCartney rolls
it with black ink and places a sheet of dry, white paper on top. She
finally rubs the back side to pick up the ink and create a print.
McCartney
explains, “After I print the woodcut in black and white, I begin to
explore the use of color, and the work proceeds to another stage.”
She
uses watercolor in the same way that early photographers once tinted
their traditional black and white photos, giving her the additional
artistic freedom to speak with a range of color.
“The
meaning is found in the doing,” she says. “In making the print, I find
new discoveries that are only revealed through the work process.”
McCartney’s
woodcuts have appeared in shows at the Art Institute of Chicago, the
Milwaukee Art Museum, and The Charles Allis Library in Milwaukee among
others. She has exhibited at the Anderson Art Center; Kenosha in their
winter juried show in 2003 through 2007, and was awarded a solo exhibit
in 2003. Her work is owned by a number of corporations and private
individuals.
Paul
Schwengel’s photography is featured in
the Tower Gallery at Charlene’s. He began taking photos as a young
teenager and was encouraged in high school joining the yearbook staff
and proceeded from there to work in advertising. Self-taught through
research and the study of magazines, books and by making “thousands of
good and bad exposures,” Paul says he is most influenced by the works
of Paul Strand and other early B&W photographers.
“Black
and white close-ups have always been my medium,” he says, “looking for
the unusual perspective, angle or view not readily apparent in everyday
scenes.”
He has resisted in part, the change to digital
photography and still uses some medium-format film cameras, but finds
the perfect balance in using a 35mm digital. Paul explains that his
digital prints, made with modern archival inks, will now outlast
traditional darkroom prints.
He resides in Jacksonport, but
for almost three decades has been regularly traveling the Midwest as a
manufacturer’s representative. He says this affords him a great variety
of scenic opportunities but still finds many great subjects and ideas
right outside his backdoor.
Charlene says, “The gallery has
never looked so good,” extending a cordial invitation for art lovers to
see for themselves and meet Marilu and Paul at the Saturday, May 24
reception. “Visit us on-line for a podcast
interview and a glimpse of
the featured works on exhibit here in Gills Rock.”
For more information on
upcoming shows and a portfolio sampling of our collection visit ... GalleryTen.com
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