In fact, I think I could continue to look indefinitely and still not exhaust the possibilities. The most satisfying part of doing the background work for this column, however, was a gallery talk I attended on September 13th, at which three of the artists, Wendy Seller, Ric Haynes, and Ed Oates, generously gave their time to discuss their work and answer questions. The only criticism I have of the gallery talk was that it was not well enough attended. To paraphrase her own words, she breaks the taboo that art shouldn't be pretty. Photo courtesy Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence, RI Artist Wendy Seller.
Photo courtesy the artist.
Her symbolism includes ladders, roots, a gossiping couple, a bowler hat, paintbrushes. She works in oil, with very tiny brushes, carefully laying out the composition and working in a series of overlays producing, when viewed from a distance a lovely, soft painting that beckons one closer. When one does get closer, one sees the meticulous detail, the symbols, the dream images and the vivid imagination of the artist. She is a member of the faculty at Simmons College and the Rhode Island School of Design. His work seems, to me at least, to be close to the opposite end of the genre from the art of Wendy Seller.