NEXT EXHIBITION:
Monterey resident Susan Gilbert’s My Kitschy World opens on May 2,
and the artist’s reception will be that evening – May 2, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Please join us that evening to see Gilbert’s detailed and colorful
paintings, and talk with her about her work.
With Gilbert’s detailed depictions and fine craftsmanship, her work
captures worlds that seem to be make believe, but, upon closer
inspection the viewer sees that these scenes reference iconic activities,
events, American traditions and culture, and aspects of everyday life.
Within the images are stories, which can reflect anything from a visit to
a coffee shop or her father’s love for the Red Sox. She characterizes her
style as “cartoony-figurative.” This allows for “the use of lots of color,
exaggerated activity between the characters and my own sense of
humor” she adds.
Gilbert paints in acrylic and gouache on many different grounds -- most
recently Masonite, plywood, and roofing aluminum. She enjoys
assembling these canvases to add dimension, and shaping them to relate
to the imagery of the piece. She cites such artists as Red Grooms, Roy
Deforest, Chicago’s Hairy Who, Florence Stetheimer, and Frida Kahlo as
inspiration. I am reminded, too, of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and
Hieronymus Bosch, who painted vast, elaborate, detailed scenes of daily
and imaged life of the 16 th century in the Netherlands.
The artist was graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts,
and right away began showing her work in venues such as
Massachusetts College of Art, Clark University, and the University of
Massachusetts. With exhibiting success under her belt, she took time
away from art-making for family time. While raising two daughters she
began a baking business as a self-taught pastry chef and cake decorator!
However, making art is her first love, and she returned to her studio as
soon as life permitted, and has been working there full-time for fifteen
years.
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