New Lesbian Artist’s Exhibition at the Lyman-Eyer Gallery

Filed Under Arts, Exhibits, Lesbian matters | July 3rd, 2008 

The Lyman-Eyer Gallery is pleased to announce their latest exhibition of new work by Provincetown lesbian artists Sally Brophy (white line prints) and Madeliene Abling (oil paintings) at the Lyman-Eyer Gallery. The exhibition runs from August 1-13 with the opening reception on Friday, August 1 at 7 PM.

The Three Muses, white line print by Sally Brophy (Image courtesy of the Lyman-Eyer Gallery)Sally Brophy’s new white-line woodblock prints are taking on a more painterly quality. “They continue to reflect narrative compositions filled with the joy of living in Provincetown and a love of nature, but now I’m thinking ahead in the process about the placement of shadows and reflections. These aspects are painted into larger open areas rather than being created by the cut lines. The indoors-looking-out angle of my new print View from Library includes this in the shadows cast by the late afternoon sun moving across the harbor.”

Growing up in Central Maine Sally Brophy was always involved in some type of artistic endeavor working mostly with acrylics and pen and ink throughout high school and college. “After graduating in 1982 from Curry College in Milton, MA with a B.A. in English, I moved to Laguna Beach, CA and began my career as a writer and graphic artist. I returned to Maine from 1986-1996 where I continued to do graphic design. During that time I studied ceramics at the Portland Pottery School for eight years. I moved to Boston in 1996 to work as Art Director for a group of parenting publications. While there I also took classes in woodworking and bookmaking. It wasn’t until moving to Provincetown that I finally discovered the art form that most appeals to me. I was especially drawn to printmaking – the slow, deliberate process of cutting wood to create a line, then gradually applying paint to board and paper to produce a print – brought me back to the roots of the creative process. I also like the connection I feel to Provincetown’s past artists through working on a technique that began here.”

“The process of white-line printmaking has been passed down by individuals through generations. I began studying the method with Kathi Smith, who learned it from her grandmother, Ferol Sibley Warthen. She learned the technique from Blanche Lazzell, who learned it from Oliver Chaffee, who in turn learned it from his wife Ada Gilmore, one of the six original printmakers to begin this Provincetown tradition.”

Composed, oil on canvas by Madeliene Abling (Image courtesy of the Lyman-Eyer Gallery)Born in Ohio, and then transplanted to Florida, Madeliene Abling finally made her way to Provincetown in 2005. Primarily a self-taught artist, Madeliene works from her studios in Provincetown and Florida.

“In the studio, I surround myself with canvases of all sizes. I put mounds of paint on my big glass palette, pick up a painting knife and create seemingly random, textured surfaces on the canvas. The layers and layers of paint become the foundation for a painting’s background. Next comes opaque color; under layers of paint ‘peek through’, suggesting something hidden and offering depth and visual interest. The shapes inspire the subject; they always become the painting that they are supposed to become. Although shape, color and tone are my focus, for me the subject is important in that it also carries emotion and mood. But the shapes and colors are what draw me in; the bigger, the bolder, the better. The palette knife demands that I paint large shapes. The ongoing experiment with color invites me to be bold.”

Madeliene has studied art at the Scottsdale Artist School, Crealde Art School, The Art School at Kapalua, Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM), and Castle Hill. She has studied under TJ Walton of Provincetown, MA and has exhibited at the James Beard Foundation Greenhouse Gallery, NY, the French Culinary Institute, NY, and the PAAM Member’s Shows.

These intriguing and personal images will be on view from August 1st through August 13th. The Opening Reception will be held on Friday, August 1st at 7:00 p.m.

Lyman-Eyer Gallery hours are Daily 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

432 Commercial Street, Provincetown, Massachusetts 02657 (508) 487-3937
www.lymaneyerart.com

About the images: Top – The Three Muses, white line print by Sally Brophy; Bottom – Composed, oil on canvas by Madeliene Abling. (All photo’s courtesy of the Lyman-Eyer Gallery)

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