McGowan Fine Art announces the opening of “Reflections” featuring recent paintings and
sculptures by Gary Haven Smith. The show will run from October 9 - November 9,
with an opening reception on October 12 from 5 to 7 PM. It is free and open to the
public.
Gary Haven Smith has long been recognized as one of
New Hampshire’s premier sculptors – completing
such public works as The Source, a large sculpture at the
Thorne-Sagendorf Gallery at Keene State College and the fountain in the entry of
Concord Hospital. Many of his
paintings and sculptures are in private and public collections throughout the
state including the Currier Museum of Art and the New Britain Museum of Art.
Gary continues to coax art from
stone, lead and slate, letting the tools take the lead in the design. His most
recent work has moved towards a sparer, more elegant look with fewer colors. “I
am pushing the tools more than the materials” says Smith. And sometimes that
push requires restraint. This is evident in the large painting “Vernalis.” The
grain of the slate creates waves of concentric pattern which are broken up by
the organic forms of gold leaf ebbing and flowing across the surface. The grid
pattern of the slate pieces adds a geometric orderliness to the painting. “My
paintings are moving away from color and towards etching and gilding of the
surface. The texture of the materials does enough.”
Smith continues to explore mechanically controlled
cutting of granite boulders to create his sculptures. In “One the Way II” he has
allowed the diamond tipped blade to slowly drop through a stone while it rotates
on a turntable. Cutting at approximately an inch an hour the movement creates a
tight helix. “The sculptures are about what is there and what isn’t there,” says
Smith. It creates an interesting give and take between the ghost silhouette of
the former stone and the freshly cut outline.
There will be a studio tour at Mr. Smith’s home on
October 20 at 11 AM. People interested in attending should RSVP to the gallery
at 603-225-2515. The group will meet at McGowan Fine Art at 10:30 AM to carpool
to his studio.
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