Archway Gallery presents
THE DRIFT OF STARS
THE DRIFT OF STARS
Featuring Paintings and Works in Fused Glass by Liz Conces Spencer
Exhibition December 1, 2018 – January 3, 2019
Opening Reception
DATE: Saturday, December 1, 2018
TIME: 5 – 8 p.m.
Artist Talk and Poetry Reading, 6:30 p.m.
Artist Talk and Poetry Reading, 6:30 p.m.
Complimentary Valet Parking & Light Refreshments
Late Night Pie's Bad Christmas Photos Annual All-Ages New Year's Eve Game Night
DATE: Saturday, December 15, 2018 DATE: Monday, December 31, 2018
TIME: 7 – 9 p.m. TIME: 6 – 10 p.m.
MUSIC: Fools on Stools
Archway Gallery presents The Drift of Stars, featuring recent paintings and works in fused glass by Liz Conces Spencer, on view December 1, 2018 – January 3, 2019.
The artist will visit with guests at the opening reception on Saturday, December 1, from 5 – 8 p.m., and will discuss her work in a talk at 6:30 p.m. She will be joined by poet Diana Conces, who will read from selected works which have been paired to pieces in the exhibition.
Spencer's new body of work, The Drift of Stars, explores her visual thoughts on the passage and mystery of time.
Being present is key to the personal and intimate experience of making art, particularly drawing or painting the figure or working from the landscape plein aire, or directly onsite. At the point in time that the muse is translated by the artist to a substrate of canvas or paper or glass, the present moves with it, and a new reality is born, assuming its own life, qualities and personality. Inasmuch as the muse existed in a specific moment in time, the work of art is what has evolved, surviving as testament to that moment. As the work in its own new life morphs and changes, it too exists in consciousness only in the present, not in the future nor in the past. And, as philosopher Jacques Maritain postulated, the two-way communication that exists between art and viewer allows an ever-present, always changing charged experience with each successive encounter. The muse is further invoked by other art, including music and poetry. The title of the exhibition is based on a line from T.S. Eliot's haunting Burnt Norton. Other pieces are inspired by the poetry of Diana Conces, an award-winning and published author who will read from her selected works during the opening reception.
Spencer's landscape, figurative, and non-representational studies are often reworked extensively, creating new realities far removed from the moment of inception. The figurative works frequently superimpose human forms from several different sessions and models. Landscapes are abstracted to abide by a generous dollop of creative intuition in color placement and patterning. Some works are deceptively simple. The blending of timelines, subjects and materials is intentional, with threads of meaning suggested in titles that focus attention on our shared mortality, our memories of the past, and our hopeful yet flawed expectation of the future.
Liz Conces Spencer joined Archway Gallery in 2005 and has offered two one-person shows since that time. She has shown in a three-person show with Vorakit Chinooksowong and Dr. Ron Outen. Her past three featured shows have been partnerships with her frequent collaborator Gene Hester. Spencer is a teaching artist with Young Audiences of Houston, and with Kevin Cromwell she manages the figure drawing sessions at Archway every Sunday morning.
ABOUT ARCHWAY GALLERY
Artist owned and operated since 1976. Archway Gallery, one of Houston's and the nation's oldest artist-owned and operated galleries, is located at 2305 Dunlavy and is open Monday – Saturday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. Since 1976, Archway Gallery has been exhibiting the work of the area's finest artists, providing a great selection of affordable, high quality art including sculpture, pottery and painting in a variety of media and styles. One of the more than 30-member artists is always on site, providing visitors a unique opportunity to meet the artists who created the work, offering a personal insight into the process. Each month features a special exhibition highlighting member artist(s). The public is invited to the monthly opening receptions that celebrate the new installations and work, usually held the first Saturday of each month from 5 – 8 p.m. In addition to monthly exhibitions, Archway also hosts a variety of demonstrations and monthly readings for local writers and authors, as well as a "Tea and Tour" program, providing visitors with a free artist-led tour of the current exhibition, followed by tea and refreshments. With 30 artist-members, Archway Gallery is THE destination in the Houston area for affordable art directly from the artist. For more information, visit ArchwayGallery.com or call 713.522.2409. Like Archway Gallery on Facebook.
DEBRA FORD | PHONE: 281-415-0673 | EMAIL: debra@fordandcompany.com |PORTFOLIO: www.fordandcompany.com
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