“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Pablo Picasso
Paintings by Kristen Feighery (with a small Deb Mell painting/collage on the right)
“The dust of everyday life” is unavoidable, but I’m reminded by an opening Friday night that we don’t have to gather that dust; we can wash it away and refill our soul with art.
Steven Francis Fine Art (SFFA) opened its doors in Lynchburg Friday, with a salon-style presentation of sixteen artists, with almost that many more from the Steve and Lucia Coates personal collection. The self-taught artist Kristen Feighery, above, drew my attention right away. Her off-balance angels and all-too-human disciples at the last supper reached into my spirit and soul immediately.
Yarn artist Janet Stapleman lifted my awareness of how art rises above the mundane. Her patterned fabric work came about after arthritis limited her as a painter. The beauty and richness of color compel me, but the narrative of her artistic journey in the face of what could be viewed as a roadblock to creativity shed light on the value of art in our lives.
International artist Ann van de Graaf has long been a favorite of mine. She was born in Africa and has travelled the world, but her feet and her art are firmly grounded in examining real people going about their real experiences trying to live richer, fuller lives. As well as a deep respect for the animal kingdom. Her artist bio explains that she is “influenced by the artistic expressions of indigenous people that reflect the human tie to the Earth and Spirit, and the mystery of that connection.”
Kathy Cudlin has travelled the world as a photographer. I have a color favorite in my study that she took in France, of clothes on a line. The visual contrast of the blue shutter with the flapping clothes still stops me, puts me there. The photographs she’s showing at SFFA are black and white, equally arresting. I’m fortunate to own a collection of b/w beautiful shots she made at Graceland.
Lucia Coates is a lifelong artist who paints from nature as well as still life. As she devotes more and more time to her painting the work becomes stronger and more arresting. I was so pleased to see a collection of her recent work in this show.
We’ve often chosen Coates’ work as gifts. One of my daughters has lush hydrangeas in her dining room. Another cherishes a small painting of fruit. These works cheer the spirit on the dreariest day.
Our community is fortunate to have SFFA as an addition to its rich cultural offerings. But every community offers the opportunities to “dust off” the spirt and the soul through the arts. In these troubling times, when so much of the focus is on what we’ve been doing wrong in our democracy, visit the museums and music venues and libraries and galleries and breathe in again the uplifting air of the best we have to offer one another through the arts.
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