Parallel Lives, Divergent Views

Ten area artists will bring a rich variety of work to Madisons Common Wealth Gallery January 31 through February 14, in a show called Parallel Lives, Divergent Views". The shows name refers to the ten womens common pursuit of art parallel" to their jobs and other life responsibilities, and to the wide range of media and perspectives represented.

(PRWEB) January 26, 2004 --Art viewers who make the trek to Common Wealth, located in the Enterprise Building at 100 S. Baldwin Street, will find an array of works in watercolor, oils, pastels, pencil, fiber, photography and glass. Among them are small figures fashioned from abandoned textiles by Leslee Nelson, director of the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program and a professor in the Departments of Art and Liberal Studies & the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Showing other works in fiber is Stephanie Funck, who has created a colorful series of baskets from handpainted watercolor paper. Works in handmade paper are shown by Valerie Shaw, along with oils and pastels that offer her reflections on life through the interplay of light and shadow.

Digital creations by Edna M. Kunkel offer a twenty-first century perspective on painting that she describes as digifauvism, my electronic tribute to the true colorists, the fauvists." Traditional stained glass panels and abstract compositions of glass squares are displayed by Sara Mills.

The watercolor and colored pencil works of Jean M. Duff explore the human qualities of birds and animals, while a series by photographer Ellen Carlson images her Basset's understanding of his own ears. Soft, subtle colors of backyard flowers, leaves and landscapes are captured in the watercolors of Bonnie Chambers.

Bold figurative oil paintings by Genee Lepak study relationships and explore nature's tie to all things. Renee Raines' delicate pencil drawings extend beyond the earthly to reveal the spiritual essence and wonder of beings imagined.

An opening reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on January 31. Hours thereafter are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 12 to 4 p.m. weekends, and Thursday evenings until 8 pm. For more information about the artists and samples of their work, see http://parallellives.home.att.net.