Welcome: New Gallery Artists
Group Exhibition | Main Floor Gallery
Exhibit Info & Statement
May 30-August 5, 2023
Welcome: New Gallery Artists
This exhibition welcomes new gallery artists to the roster at Gilded Pear Gallery! The show is not based on a theme but the best representation of an artist’s body of work and style. Artworks on display include paintings, printmaking, collage, pastel, and ceramics. The Gallery focuses on the talents of artists working in the Midwest and, of the seven, five are eastern Iowans. The exhibiting artists selected bring fresh subject matter to the gallery, such as: larger-than-life-size florals, detailed symbolic imagery, clever color and pattern relationships, and delicious still-life moments. Join the gallery in welcoming: Wendy Eggerman, Nichole Gronvold Roller, Emily Jalinsky, Julia Kulish, Buffy Quegg, Justin Vasey, and Amanda Wilharm.
About the Artists
- Biography
Originally from Minnesota, Wendy Eggerman first fell in love with pottery while attending Warren Wilson College for a B.A. in American History in the mountains of North Carolina. Since then, her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and she has been an active ceramic artist in a variety of studios. She has been a visiting artist at The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in California as well as Ronda Arte Academy in Spain. Eggerman’s work is primarily influenced by her love of antiques, especially hobnail glass. Tactility and functionality guide her practical, elegant aesthetic. Eggerman’s pots are brushed with a terra sigillata finish on the exterior and seasoned with coconut oil. Over time they will acquire a patina and grow more beautiful, visually developing with use, as an heirloom might collect stories through generations.
Statement
My inspiration is found in the kitchen and enhanced by my love of antiques. Hobnail glass and lace are my greatest influences. I love the tactile quality of the dots and how they fit on the pots. While making pottery, I imagine how it would fit in a 1930s farmhouse. Soft, dusty colors, with simple, sturdy forms. Pottery that is decorated and beautiful, but always practical. Many homes during the 1930s did not have much, but often still took pride in a lace tablecloth, and a few nice pieces of china or glass. I believe that people don't need much to be content, but do need to surround themselves with quality, meaningful, objects. One thing I particularly enjoy about antiques is how they subtly record the past. Objects record their story with every stain, scratch, rust, tarnish, and carry that with them. On my pieces the thin surface of terra sigillata allows bits of texture to show through and become the start of the pot’s story. Over time the terra sigillata surface will patina and as the piece gets used, will continue to record that use. Overall, I work to create functional pottery with a depth that will be revealed over time and use. - Biography
Nichole Gronvold-Roller is a painter who received a BFA in Art Education from Minnesota State University of Moorhead, an MA in Art Education from Boston University, and an MFA in Painting from Bradley University. Gronvold-Roller will receive an MFA in Painting from Bradley University in Spring 2023. In addition to being an artist, Nichole is a full-time high school art teacher in Tremont, IL, where she has been teaching for the past twenty-five years. Furthermore, she is a contributor writer for the Inland Art column with Community Word. Nichole lives in Illinois with her husband and three children. A selection of publications featuring Gronvold-Roller’s paintings includes; Dubuque Museum of Art (Dubuque, IA), Artforum (New York, NY), Wall Street International (Budya, Montenegro), Peoria Journal Star, (Peoria, IL), GRAFIX® (Maple Heights, OH), Inside Publications (Sacramento, CA), and Kolaj Magazine.
Statement
My geometric shaped paintings embrace contemporary art practices of relevant pluralism. My artwork is an intersection of fine art, architecture, and design, referencing underlying themes in art history, mixing and merging concepts. Admiring past practices of 20th-century geometric abstraction, I recognize and challenge the movement for its reductive strains and return to the initial discourse that led to the investigation. My paintings include symbolic colors and the illusion of space that otherwise would be excluded from the movement. The edges of my artwork define a rotation of deep and shallow areas, navigated by an atmospheric apparition creating the impression of space. Incorporating ornate motifs and flat planes of color, I invite the viewer to pause—to linger, accompanying the rhythm of my daily happenings. - Biography
Emily Jalinsky is an interdisciplinary printmaking artist. Through her works on paper and assemblages she explores finding mindfulness amongst hardship and chaotic states of the mind. Emily has exhibited regionally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at La Maison du Potier, La Celle les Bordes, France, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, IA, and the Stanley Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA. Permanent Collections include the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics and UI Mood Disorder Clinic specialized treatment center for depression. Emily was selected for the Iowa Arts Council Strategic Planning Partners Series and conducted a remote artist residency through Artist/Mother Co. during the pandemic. She is an educator and founding member of the Iowa City Press Co-op at Public Space One, Iowa City, IA. She received a BFA in printmaking from the University of Kansas in 2012 and now resides, works, and actively contributes to the art community in and around Iowa City, IA.
Statement
Emily’s recent work explores finding spark and vigor in one’s experience to counterbalance life’s hardships. The work pays homage to the Dadaist’s playful energy with materials and composition, while working from a feminine perspective. A selection of symbols originally chosen by happenstance via a letterpress proof are woven within the artist’s personal imagery to celebrate philosophical ideas embracing nothingness and absurdity. Found and printed books, along with a continued use of gold, reference creating one’s own sacred texts for contemplation. Achieving mindfulness amongst the chaos; balance within the dissonance. - Biography
As a full-time artist and instructor of 12 years, Kulish brings flowers to life in a big way as a semi self-taught artist. Both of her parents were artists, and she states, this is where she “inherited a desire to know more.” Over time she has been included in several regional exhibitions including a solo show in the Des Moines Botanical Garden. Using oil paint, applied in a layered glazing technique, Kulish’s oversized blooms burst with color, revealing the unique personality of each flower. And while vibrant color is a large part of her work, equally so is the use of sinuous lines to create movement, along with the idea of the “beautiful chaos” found in nature. Her inspiration comes largely from her own expanding flower gardens, and the influence of both the floral still-life’s of the Dutch masters, and the light effects found in the works of Caravaggio.
Statement
Flowers fascinate me. They demand our attention, with their brilliant colors and voluptuous curves. I see flowers personified, each with their own unique personality. A lot of my inspiration comes from my own garden, as many flowers, sharing the same space, some bent over, some stretching out. They entwine themselves around each other in a chaotic beauty of sinuous lines and color. - Coming soon...
- Coming soon...
- Biography
Amanda grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in Bellevue, Iowa where she discovered her love of art. She continued her education at Iowa State University where she got a BA in Apparel Design and Art & Design. After living and exhibiting on the west coast for several years, Amanda has settled back in Iowa with her family. She has shown in several group and solo exhibitions regionally and has taken a short break recently to raise her two children. Amanda is currently working from her home studio to create her newest body of work that explores the joy of shared moments with loved ones.
Statement
If there is one thing I’ve found to be true about motherhood, it’s that you no longer have time, but you do have moments. They’re lovely, comforting, and joyous. These moments, ground me and remind me of what’s important. Delicious food and special drinks are often the catalyst to these instances; they help us live in the present. It’s hard to worry about a deadline when you’re eating cake or think about the laundry when you're sipping Champaign. I use these in my composition to create scenes that invite the viewer to relax and soak it all in. These scenes are painted in a way to convey the peace, comfort, laughter, and contentment that we feel when time stops and moments start.
Exhibit Images
Video/CAtalogue
