Exhibition organizer Laura Host says, “Just as music, theater, and literature look back on the best of the previous year’s offerings, we at the Gallery have decided to give the public another chance to take a look at the new work of last year’s top picks.”
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I first "discovered" Charles Sheeler (1883-1965) in 2004 when his
work was exhibited at the Detroit Institute of Arts. I was - and
continue to be - completely captivated by his precision and realism, and
how he created art from subjects to which the average person would
never give a second glance or thought. To my mind, Sheeler and Edward Hopper were cut from
the same cloth.
While he was a painter first, out of neccessity in 1912 he taught himself photography to make a living. He did such a remarkable job learning the craft that it soon became his full-time occupation. By the 1920s his paintings and photographs received equal recognition. In 1927 Ford Motor Co. commissioned him to do the series of photographs and paintings of the Rouge Steel plant in Dearborn that so enamored me.
His 1939 photographs of the pistons and drive wheels of a New York Central locomotive were used as a reference for "Rolling Power," one of a series of paintings on the theme of power for Fortune magazine in 1940. "Wheels," is basically the same composition as his painting, but the photograph on which it was based no longer exists.
While he was a painter first, out of neccessity in 1912 he taught himself photography to make a living. He did such a remarkable job learning the craft that it soon became his full-time occupation. By the 1920s his paintings and photographs received equal recognition. In 1927 Ford Motor Co. commissioned him to do the series of photographs and paintings of the Rouge Steel plant in Dearborn that so enamored me.
His 1939 photographs of the pistons and drive wheels of a New York Central locomotive were used as a reference for "Rolling Power," one of a series of paintings on the theme of power for Fortune magazine in 1940. "Wheels," is basically the same composition as his painting, but the photograph on which it was based no longer exists.
"Rolling Power No.1" is my homage to this master of canvas and camera, and was the inspiration for my subsequent "Iron, Steel, & Steam" series, two of which will also be exhibited.
Rolling Power No.1
Homage to Charles Sheeler
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Iron, Steel, and Steam No. 1
(First Place - Exposures: 2013)
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Iron, Steel, and Steam No. 2
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Other participating artists are:
Jud Coveyou - Ferndale
Suzanne Rock - Leonard
Mary Ann Rutledge - Sterling Heights
James Ritchie - Northville
Eliza Ollinger - Detroit
Jean Lannen - Bloomfield Township
Peter Tkacz - LaSalle, Ontario,
Janet McCall Rimar - Clarkston
Brant MacLean - Detroit
Jonathon Downing - Carleton
Rosemary Lee - Howell
Suzanne Rock - Leonard
Mary Ann Rutledge - Sterling Heights
James Ritchie - Northville
Eliza Ollinger - Detroit
Jean Lannen - Bloomfield Township
Peter Tkacz - LaSalle, Ontario,
Janet McCall Rimar - Clarkston
Brant MacLean - Detroit
Jonathon Downing - Carleton
Rosemary Lee - Howell
There will be two receptions:
Opening: Friday, January 10, 6 - 9 pm
Mid-Month: Friday, January 24, 6 - 9 pm
I hope you can join us for one of them.
Regular Gallery Hours are:
Wednesday & Saturday: Noon - 5 pm
Thursday & Friday: Noon - 9 pm
Lawrence Street Gallery:
22620 Woodward Ave.
(1 block south of 9 Mile Rd.)
Ferndale, Michigan
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