MARIPOSA — The Mariposa County Arts Council invites the public to join five local artists for discussion, wine and hors d’oeuvres at the reception for a new exhibition — Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water — on Friday, Nov. 1 from 4:30 – 6 p.m. at the Treetop Gallery, located at 5009 Hwy 140, Mariposa, upstairs from Chocolate Soup Gift Shop.
In this exhibition, artists Tim DeWitt, David Hoffman, Jeannetta Phillips, Hannelore Fischer and Lorie Setterberg were challenged to create and show work that creatively explores the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. They answered with work across multiple mediums, each curating their artwork to communicate a narrative or demonstrate our relationship to the elements
and their material forms.
Chapel, by Tim DeWitt
Artist Tim DeWitt holds a diverse creative background spanning from architectural design and leatherwork to sculpture and papercutting. This time, he utilizes new crafts with architectural
models, surreal blueprints, and a digital-audio installation that focuses on our relationship to our physical environment and what structures we build to interact to interact with that space.
Adjacent to DeWitt, is California photographer David Hoffman. His work features a variety of landscapes that demonstrate the vast grandeur, scale, and quite intimacy of unobstructed natural
forms. “I would like to think that my photographs may encourage the viewer to take a closer look at the world around them,” says Hoffman, “… and to notice the rich imagery in our surroundings
that so often slips by unnoticed.” Local photographer Jeanetta Phillips also supports Hoffman’s hope for the viewer in her own work. Her exhibited images consider how the four elements affect variations and subsequent patterns in nature, allowing the viewer to reinterpret familiar landscapes and details.
Inspired by botany and microbiology, painter Hannelore Fischer achieves abstract textural pieces using an acrylic paint/clear medium mixture with a stippling and reduction process. With multiple paintings created specifically for this exhibition, Fischer’s work encapsulates the shared visceral and emotional mood of each element.
Fellow Sierra Nevada painter, Lorie Setterberg chose instead to focus on a single element that hits close to home. Besides painting, Setterberg is a loyal volunteer for the Mariposa County Fire Department and finds her experiences on the ground fuels her work in the studio. As many know, “Living in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, fire is a common occurrence…” says Setterberg, “…and something that is always at the back of our minds. Having been a firsthand witness to much of its destruction, I have a healthy respect for it, yet I see a certain beauty in the ominous colors in the fire and heavy smoke. That has been a large part of my inspiration to paint them, along with the equipment and people who operate it.”
This exhibition will run at the Treetop Gallery from Nov. 1, 2019 – Feb. 28, 2020.
For more information please visit the Arts Council’s website at mariposaartscouncil.org or call the office at 209-966-3155.
The MARIPOSA COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL, INC. is an incorporated not-for-profit organization, created to promote and support all forms of the cultural arts, for all ages, throughout Mariposa County.
