MARCH 2007 - Martha Whitfield

"Bare Souls" Artist's Statement:

"Much of what we present to the world is an outer mask. Our culture is obsessed with youth, outer beauty, material possessions and status. As a child, I was taught to have a "stiff upper lip" and to "hide my dirty laundry from the public." It's rare that we find the safety to let down our walls and let others enter our inner sanctum. Yet it is exactly this intimacy that makes life satisfying and rich. These images are souls bared. No masks, no fake beauty. Just raw humanity with all the emotions and moods that we work so hard to disguise. It is my hope that these images will connect viewers to our broader human family, and ultimately, make the journey less lonely."

Martha Whitfield works and teaches at her NoDa Studio. She offers expressive art sessions that help people discover deep layers of meaning in their lives.
704-560-8978 or mwhit@bellsouth.net.

Abstractions
October 6th ~ October 31st, 2006

"Abstractions" are paintings based upon the movement of water and its reflective and powerful qualities. Each piece contains a sense of fluidity, all displaying different tempos of movement and levels of intensity. The vibrant color choices enhance the way in which your eyes flow through the composition.

Natalie Bork was born in 1976 in Buffalo, NY. She sold her first art piece in 3rd grade to a teacher that was moved by her abstract floral composition; at that time her passion for art was ignited and grew into the remarkable career she has today. Natalie's contemporary art style is prolific throughout Charlotte, North Carolina. She studied fine arts at Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Currently Natalie has a dual career as a professional artist and as a fine arts teacher at the prestigious Charlotte Country Day School. She has established a strong following of private collectors and has been featured in numerous galleries. Nature and the Human Form provide the basic impetus for Natalie Bork's compositions. Natalie's artwork explicitly conveys her inner peace derived from the simple pleasures in life. Her color choices reflect the vibrancy of life itself while her subject matter suggests purpose and beauty. Natalie's paintings are laced with symbolic circular imagery that coincides with the figural qualities of her paintings. Femininity is created through the use of soft, subtle shapes, and flowing arcs juxtaposed with vivid life-colors to exude a sense of masculinity. Only when this masculine-feminine, purpose-beauty relationship has been balanced, will Natalie Bork call a rendering complete. Her creations arouse, inspire, and implore one to discover his or her perfect balances.

Two Different Views
September 1st ~ September 28th, 2006

I have been painting and drawing most of my life, basically since I can remember. I have always found creating art to be a fascinating challenge to me, it is the one thing that I have stuck with since my childhood and still find it exciting today. Creating, designing, composing concepts and imagery and just looking at artwork has always been and entertaining and fascinating experience for me. I find that when I pant or draw it allows my mind to wander to many different places at once stirring up memories and ideals that eventually lead me to feeling as if I know a little more about my self.

These paintings were done over the last year and a half when I was looking at a lot of futurism and cubist painters. I have always found architecture to be an interesting art form that serves both as function and beauty, the fact that someone can look at a particular structure and be reminded of things that have happened in their life is one of the main things that interests me about architecture.

I want these paintings to be a space that entices the viewer to look within the space, to find this imagery of architectural forms to mean more than just what they see in front of them. The spaces are created by shapes, colors and lines that are meant to hold the viewers attention and hopefully allow them to enjoy and explore the space carefully. In some cases these spaces may be calming, and other times they may seem excited and full of movement, whatever the viewer may see in them I want them to act as more than just imagery of buildings. To me these paintings express that buildings are not just wood, steel and concrete, but a place where anything can happen, a place that holds memories and ideals, a place that is much more than just a roof and some walls put together.