Article published Jul 28, 2014
AMY J. BARRY, Special to The Day
Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art located in Branford Mansion on the University of Connecticut's Groton campus
Four accomplished regional artists working in very different mediums and techniques are featured in the Late Summer Exhibition at the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art in Groton. But what these artists do have in common, according to gallery director Julia Pavone, is their expression of human emotion. "All of these artists seem to want to strip away the things that falsely guide you to places that make you forget your natural self - the feeling and needs of others, and the very basics of life," Pavone says. "They each express visually, though in very different ways, the raw emotional states that make us human, that make us all part of one larger family, and the rich textures of life that we all search for."
KATHLEEN ZIMMERMAN OF WILLINGTON
Installation of Kathleen Zimmerman's graphite drawings at Alexey von Schlippe Gallery
Zimmerman is displaying her series of graphite drawings that were drawn during the five years she lived in China.
"They're not necessarily about China, but they were influenced by that five years of my life and what I was thinking about during that time," she says. Zimmerman says she works in graphite because she wants the ideas and forms to be the dominant force in her work. "Graphite lends itself to being very expressive without taking over," she says. "Some artwork is all about the materials, but that's not what I'm interested in. Also, there's an intimacy about a hand-drawn image, which I love … whatever I put down on the paper is what I get. It is a meditative experience and a real joy in being able to capture the creative act so purely." In describing her work, Zimmerman says, "I use symbolism and surrealism to transform my subject matter into archetypal images, which gives them a mythical quality."
Installation of Kathleen Zimmerman's graphite drawings at Alexey von Schlippe Gallery
"Kathleen's intricate, delicately layered graphite drawings each appear to come together to form the complex entity," Pavone points out. "As with life, each lovely drawing is made up of so many ethereal textures, shades and shapes that you want to look at more deeply to experience the emotions visually laid out before you."
Note: Kathleen's solo exhibition took place throughout July and August of 2014. Rights Series - Unbalanced, pictured directly above, won the John Fleming Memorial Award at the Mill Gallery's 66th Annual Juried exhibition.