Purgatorio, Paradisio
Artisans on Taylor Gallery is pleased to present the group show, “Purgatorio, Paradisio”, named in reference to Dante’s “Inferno”. This show will feature local artist Bill NeSmith, returning artists Michael deMeng (Montana) and Jesse Reno (Portland), as well as new artist Zoe Williams who recently relocated to New York City. The opening reception for this upcoming show will be March 3rd from 6-8pm in conjunction with the Port Townsend Gallery Walk.
Local artist Bill NeSmith will have his Port Townsend debut during this show with his paintings that push cultural issues and Native American studies. With no formal training NeSmith is slowly returning from a 22 year hiatus from the arts, during which time he rose a family and worked as a social worker. These themes come through clearly in his intricate work. Also working with cultural issues and Native American studies, is returning Portland artist, Jesse Reno. Reno, also with no formal training, has exploded onto the art scene over the last 10 years. His works can be seen throughout the world, ethereal images that push the viewer to connect one's ideas with the realities around them.
A new artist to Port Townsend, is artist Zoe Williams, who studied at the University of Washington and the University of New Orleans, and will present a collection of her felted creations. Her needle-felted wool investigates the significance of dreams and symbols, with an interest in Jungian psychology and the idea of archetypes emerging from the collective unconscious, as well as the concepts of anima/animus and shadow. Returning artist, Michael deMeng, will bring along his collection of assemblages that have gained him fame across the country and internationally as he teaches his techniques and presents work that are about the transformation of taking the common into the sacred. These assemblages are metaphors for the evolutions and revolutions of existence: from life to death to rebirth, from new to old to renewed, from construction to destruction to reconstruction.
The March show at Artisans on Taylor will be from March 2nd-April 1st, and also host a panel discussion with artists Reno, deMeng, and NeSmith on March 31st at 7pm. Artisans on Taylor Gallery is located at 911 Water St. and online at www.artisansontaylor.com