Utah State University press
releases for 1-12-07:
PAINTING IN THE DEEP WOODS — RESULTS TO BE SEEN AT UTAH STATE
UNIVERSITY
January 12, 2007
Contact: Deborah Banerjee, assistant curator (435) 797-8207
Source: Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
PAINTING IN THE DEEP WOODS
— RESULTS TO BE SEEN AT UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
LOGAN — What happens when a painter paints deep in the woods?
The answer can be found at The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, on the campus
of Utah State University, Jan. 24-March 10.
“Painted Perceptions of Cache Valley Canyons,” a new exhibit opening
at the museum, features the work of USU art department faculty member Woody
Shepherd. An opening reception for the exhibit is Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 5:30
p.m. at the museum. The opening is free and all are invited.
The exhibition is comprised of 11 large paintings that measure 6 feet by 6 feet
and up to 8 feet by 11 feet, and were painted on site around Cache Valley and
off the beaten track. In such locations as Devil’s Gate, Oxkiller Hollow,
Beaver Basin and Sink Hollow, Shepherd takes his large panels out to paint in
the congested underbrush. His process involves visiting the site first to sketch
and collect color samples, then he returns to the studio to develop the ground
work for the painting. He then returns to the location with the large panels
to complete the work on site.
“The paintings of
dense grottoes and hills seen through the thicket of fallen trees offer an unusual
view of Cache Valley,” said the museum’s assistant curator Deb Banerjee.
“In Woody, you find the unblinking clinical eye of a realist painter who
paints from direct observation blended with the dazzling color pattern of an
abstract expressionist painter.”
“My paintings reflect
my fascination with the beauty found in the interaction between perception,
painting and the natural environment,” Shepherd said. “The work
becomes like jazz improvisation, an interaction of different voices; the artist,
the changing light of the landscape over time, the painting and the process.
“The layers of the
painting weave together light and space to function as a whole. I am interested
in beauty but beauty as a tension of disparate things. When the inner forces
of the tension are particularly dynamic, a painting explodes with sensations
— that is, profound sentiments are produced from a clash between visual
energies and stylistic descriptions.”
Shepherd is originally from
Birmingham, Ala. He studied painting and printmaking at Yale University, receiving
a master of fine arts in 2005. He joined the USU faculty in 2005. He is represented
by the Henoch Gallery in New York City.
A catalog, funded by a USU
New Faculty Research Grant, will accompany the exhibition. Additional funding
is from the Utah Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about
“Painted Perceptions of Cache Valley,” or to schedule a tour of
the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, call (435) 797-0165.
The Nora Eccles Harrison
Museum of Art is on the USU campus at 650 North 1100 East, Logan, Utah, 84322,
(435) 797-0163; fax (435) 7978-3423. Information is available at the museum’s
Web site, http://www.usu.edu/artmuseum. The museum is open Tuesday- Friday,
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon-4 p.m. The museum is closed Sundays, Mondays
and holidays. Admission is free. The museum is accessible to persons with disabilities.
Parking for the museum is
available in lot C3 to the west of the museum. The parking fee in this area
is $6 ($3 will be refunded if parked for two hours or less). Parking is free
after 3:45 p.m. and on weekends. Parking is also available in the USU Parking
Terrace, located near the Taggart Student Center for $1.50/hour ($7.50/day maximum).
Free parking after 2 p.m. is available at lot B, located at the corner of 700
North and 1200 East (by Aggie Ice Cream).
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Museum-woody-shepherd
Source: NEH museum for USU Public USU/pw 1/12/07
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