Featured Artists Exhibit for April/May 2021

Keith Allen

Creating works of functional artistic furniture, self-taught artist Keith Allen emphasizes the natural nuances of wood and spotlights the once perceived flaws in his chosen material—all with a bit of whimsy. His striking pieces often use butterfly joints inspired by George Nakashima and he brings out the beautiful grain in his wood work by using geometric and brightly colored features. He draws inspiration from both his background as a mathematician and computer scientist as well as pioneer of modern furniture design, Gerrit Rietveld.

Jim Oleson

A very accomplished furniture maker in his own right, Jim Oleson, has seamlessly transitioned into the art of sculpture making. A common theme with all of Jim’s work is his exceptional and imaginative designs and his incredibly high level of craftsmanship. Playing with shapes, color, kinetics, and precision, Jim’s sculptures are his creativity and imagination come to life.

Barbara Tyroler

The photography project that Barbara Tyroler be displaying began around the onset of the pandemic with a few nature walks inspired by three of her nature-loving students. Predominately a portrait photographer, Barbara took this new creative inspiration and opportunity to focus on trees and how to incorporate people into the imagery. These fine art images of composited renditions of portrait/landscape photography will be showcased in FRANK in a series titled, “Seeing-Trees; Memory, Re-planting and Re-gifting, featuring Charlotte, a little girl and her relationship with the natural world. This series was awarded an artist grant and was juried into The Fence 2021 during the CLICK! Photo festival with selections exhibited at Through This Lens gallery during the FRANK:inFocus annual. After completing the fine art series, Barbara extended the study to photographing social distanced portraits of friends, students, colleagues, educators, and some new acquaintances who graciously shared their knowledge of trees in this video which will also be displayed in this exhibit.

Alan Dehmer

Photographer and master of the process of gum bichromate printing, artist Alan Dehmer takes two related art forms and combines them into photographs with an atmospheric sense of time and nature. A complex method of printing begins with Alan enlarging a negative of one of his own magnificent images, and transforming the photographs through gum bichromate. Then using mostly mineral pigments and other organic materials like locally foraged walnut hulls, turmeric, and dyes like sandalwood and indigo, he is able to achieve a painterly and evocative final art piece. What emerges through this developing/printing process is “a haunting beauty as well as depth of surface character that is uncommon in the world of photography.”

Judith Ernst

Always, expertly, testing the limits of her medium, Judith Ernst creates incomparable sculptural, and labor intensive ceramic vessels that are impeccably designed and glazed. Directly inspired by her life experiences, studies, and traveling abroad Judith developed a highly meticulous approach to building her ceramics. “Using sculptural techniques, she cuts through the wall of the pot to get more depth and dynamic movement, taking apart thrown vessels and reconfiguring them in new ways.” The finished vessel is an incredibly unique, energetic, textural, and exquisitely colored vessel.

Jean LeCluyse

Creating immensely detailed and magnificent works of art with a combination of drawing, illustrating, and mixed media, Jean LeCluyse’s art are “windows into a ‘secret’ narrative.” Observing Jean’s artwork transports the viewer to a state of meditation, examining each detailed nuance as a viewer, one can get a glimpse into the complex story and skill of the artist. Jean’s work is directly inspired by her professional and artistic background in classical drawing and scientific illustration. Keeping with the underlying theme for this exhibit of trees, Jean’s series for the upcoming exhibit will give the viewer a look into the extreme proficiency of her chosen medium.