CARLTON GALLERY 2020 EVENTS
Autumn Group Exhibition
"The intuitive Presence of Art"
Opening Reception October 10, 11 - 4pm
Carlton Gallery begins its 38th Autumn Group Exhibition with “The Intuitive Presence of Art” on Saturday, October 10, 11 to 4 p.m.
Social distancing is maintained throughout the gallery to ensure everyone’s wellbeing.
An “Artist Spotlight” is on Andrew Braitman who is an artist of national stature with one-man and group shows from Santa Fe to Chicago to New York, and internationally from Holland to Brazil. He earned a BA in Fine Arts with minors in Physics and Art History from the University of Maryland. Braitman plans talks on the “Intuitive Presence of Art” at 1 and 3 p.m. at the Autumn Group Exhibition.
Andrew Braitman’s paintings are inspired from nature’s “untouched” – water, land, trees, twigs, and branches as they appear, change and settle. He captures the balance in nature which is alive, changing, and his paintings can be described as peaceful yet exciting. They project a blast of sensory exploration and play, taking the viewer into their own internal sensory dialogue. Braitman owns a sense of “big color” which comes naturally. His abstracted landscapes are rendered with thick paint, texture, and a compelling composition.
Artists whose paintings exemplify the intuitive process are Debbie Arnold, Lori Hill, and Toni Carlton. This process involves learning to tell the difference between your intuitive intelligence and your analytical/judging mind, and following it even though your analytical mind is screaming no. Intuitive painting connects with the inner self and the invisible worlds of spirit and soul and teaches one to be led and guided by whatever shows up on the canvas, to break away from guarantees, certainty and be open to the unknown. It is not painting from reference material, but following your own creative genius, energy and going with the flow.
Debbie Arnold’s treescapes remind one of nature’s beauty. She was inspired to develop a process of pouring liquid acrylic paint onto the canvas and uses the fluidity of the paint to reflect the organic forms of nature. Her paintings are unique and very beautiful.
The paintings of Lori Hill tend to be introspective and allegorical with patterns and colors that occur naturally in plant life, along with the sacred spaces to gain perspective and peace. She layers mixed media (paper, paint, ink) and scratches, scrapes, and sands into the layers to reveal traces of images, symbols, patterns, and colors underneath.
Toni Carlton’s paintings combined with mixed media incorporate images from her personal life experiences, a love of dance, written messages, and calligraphy. She is inspired by different cultures, expressions of movement, heart songs and spiritual connotations. Calligraphy in various languages represent an international connection and her weaving adds a 3-dimensional element, as she returns to the texture once used as a fiber artist. Beginning with writing in graphite and incorporating dyed and textured papers, hand-woven fibers, silhouettes, along with many layers of paint, she creates her work to remind one to embrace the connection to all relations.
The 38 Autumn Group Exhibition includes new landscape paintings by Mary Kamerer, Ralph James, Allison Chambers, and Trena McNabb which show their instinctual feel for the landscape featuring mountain scenes, the presence of water, birds and animal life, as well as diverse flora and fauna. It is an attest to their exceptional painting skill and talent to capture on canvas a sense of mystery and mood that is ageless.
Bright and bold still life paintings by Mary Dobbin and beautiful impressionistic flowers by new gallery artist, Laine Francis, make this exhibition visually exciting.
Abstract paintings by Tonya Bottomley and Lisa Boardwine are rendered to capture ideas in lieu of a natural form or representation.
Their paintings are filled with shapes, forms, colors, and lines to create a stunning composition.
This Autumn Group Exhibition features finely crafted contemporary wood furniture from Keith Allen’s line of cabinets, chests, and tables. Each is superbly hand-crafted using a mixture of local woods such as walnut, pecan, ash, maple, and mahogany. He utilizes domestic hardwood joineries such as mortise and tendon, dovetails, and butterfly inlay in his signature designs.
A collection of hand carved and painted mugs, bowls, and vases by clay artist Ira Burhans, along with clay wall sculpture incorporating river rocks and nature’s objects by Valerie Schnaufer fill the gallery with color and delight.
Carlton Gallery is located 10 miles south of Boone, 7 miles north of Linville or Banner Elk and 8 miles from Blowing Rock on NC 105 South in the Grandfather Mountain community.
Visit Carlton’s Gallery’s website at to view the artists’ outstanding work.
For more information, call the gallery at (828) 963-4288.