East Wing Gallery to display paintings by Elizabeth Alley May 20-July 9

Release Date: 5/6/2005. Expired: 7/9/2005

Memphis resident Elizabeth Alley creates oil paintings from snapshots of the people and places around her, cropping those images to provide a glimpse of life.

A collection of Alley’s paintings will be displayed in the East Wing Gallery of The Renaissance Center in Dickson May 20-July 9.

“My paintings are informed by the people and places around me, but I try to include the viewer in them as much as possible,” Alley says. “I use snapshots of family and friends as well as streets, signs and buildings from my hometown and elsewhere, and I interpret the pictures loosely, often cropping them to bring the viewer into the story. Combining person subject matter while including the viewer allows for an exploration of the people and places that help shape us all.”

A Memphis native, Alley received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, graduating cum laude from the University of Memphis in 1998. Her works are included in collections at the PROMUS Hotel Corporation headquarters in Memphis and at the Tipton County Center at Dyersburg State Community College.

She is a member of the ARIS Group, an organization of young artists dedicated to traditional techniques of painting and contemporary techniques of pictorial solution, and is presently project manager for the UrbanArt Commission. Her works have been featured in several solo and group exhibitions in Memphis, Mississippi and Kansas.

“While painting, Elizabeth interprets the snapshots loosely, rearranging various elements to create an interesting composition, cropping the image, distorting the form and taking liberty with color,” said Curtis Southerland, curator for the Visual Arts Gallery. “She paints the same way she tells stories: they are all based in truth with a tendency to exaggerate.”

Also featured in the East Wing Gallery through May 14 are works by Brentwood artist Sydney Reichman.

Widely known for her figurative copper sculptures with precision patinas, Reichman has enhanced her work with printmaking classes at The Renaissance Center. She has created a body of silk-screened works implementing copper plates. The resulting pieces remain consistent with the signature style of her work.

Featured in the North Wing Gallery through May 14 are drawings by Dickson County resident Terri Wall.

Wall’s passion for Native Americans and their heritage is reflected in her intricate pencil renderings of Indian portraits and scenes of horses. This newer body of work is Wall’s second display in the corridors of The Renaissance Center.

Exhibits in the Visual Arts Gallery and North and East Wing galleries are open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and admission is free.

For more information on art exhibits at The Renaissance Center, contact Southerland at (615)740-5519.

The Renaissance Center is an arts and technology education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the Visual Arts Gallery page for more about the gallery.

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