Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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MAY 4-10, 2016 UCW 15 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Gallery 208 Presents Vantage Point: The Paintings of Daniel Reeves by SONI MARTIN Ar t ist Daniel Reeves is inspired by and appreciates the "nat ure and the pat terns of organic beaut y." His high sk ill level in paint ing is ev ident . The paint ings in his exhibit at Galler y 208, Vantage Point: the Paint- ings of Daniel Reeves, speak more to what the ar t ist excludes in his ar t ist st ate- ment — an experience of enter t aining possibilit ies! The ar t ist is modest . He st ated, "I was born and raised in the foothills of rural Nor th Carolina. I believe beaut y and inspirat ion can be found in any scene. I appreciate the pat terns and organic beaut y found in the nat ural set t ings I explored as a k id and feel the same connec- t ion w ith manmade object s such as buildings or an old rust ing piece of met al. I also not iced this interest as a child when watching my dad t ake an engine apar t … the precision and shapes of the engine's interior where inspiring." W hat Reeves does not say about his work is what the theorist John Dewey clearly refers to in his w rit ing about aesthet ics and can be said of Reeves' paint ing. "Ar t is an aesthet ic qualit y that rounds out an experience into completeness and unit y as emot ional … emot ions that do not necessarily reference joy or hope or fear … emot ions are qualit ies, when signif icant, of a complex experience that moves and changes." Reeves' work moves us w ith his wonderf ul sense of humor. In the paint ing t it led "A Lov ing Family," a young child happily rides a Texas Longhorn bull in a barren landscape of yellow ochre and cadmium yellow nex t to a joy f ul elephant — her lit t le dog follows along! Joy f ulness exudes f rom his well-craf ted cont rol of pigment, sk ill level and what the paint ing sy mbolizes. W hether invest igat ing a more abst ract image or the dist inct ly repre- sent at ional, paint ings by Reeves unif y the relat ionship of mak ing w ith an aesthet ic experience that we can enjoy. "A Lov ing Family," like other work s, is an expression of a feeling , a sy mptom of the ar t ist 's st ate of mind. In all of his paint ings Reeves has a system of sy mbols to convey the concept of play — always t ak ing the t ime needed to develop his imag- er y and paint det ails. In the large paint ing t it led Beaut if ul Dement ion the ar t ist is depict ing a night scene deep in a forest . Fancif ul, curious creat ures and lov ing animals surround the child by f irelight to evoke a special place of safet y and discover y. In several of the paint ings in the exhibit, Reeves is less narrat ive and becomes even more sy mbolic through abst ract ion. In the paint ing t it led "Needle in a Hayst ack," the ar t ist has painted a close-up of a seashell on the shore surrounded by the tex t ure of broken shells. Visitors to the galler y w ill readily see how the t it le of the work ref lect s the ar t ist 's sense of humor. Inspired by the realist ic forms of Caravaggio, Gust ave Courbet and Edward Hopper, Reeves st ated he has also been inspired by "the color and fant ast ic imaginat ion of 20th cent ur y science f ict ion ar t ." His k nowledge of ar t histor y, love of the ar t s and sk ill level are shared ever y day w ith his st udent s at Bell Hef- ner Element School in Fayet tev ille, Nor th Carolina. In his customar y posit ive manner Reeves shared the follow ing: "Teaching ar t has been rewarding. My st u- dent s' ideas surprise and impress me. They remind me there is an inf inite number of possibilit ies when creat- ing an ar t work ." (It is not surprising he was awarded Teacher of the Year at Bill Hef ner Element ar y for the 2014-2015 school year.) Reeves earned an Associate Degree in Ar t f rom Wilkes Commu- nit y College, a Bachelor of Fine Ar t f rom East Carolina Universit y, and a Mas- ter 's Degree in Ar t Educa- t ion f rom UNC Pembroke. Not only an ar t teacher, but also an exhibit ing ar t ist, Reeves was recent ly awarded 3rd place at the Ar t s Council of Fayet tev ille recent compet it ion t it led Once Upon A Time: Fair y Tales, Fables and Myths. He par t icipated in the Cumberland Count y Ar t Teachers 3rd Annual Juried Compet it ion at the Elling ton-W hite Con- temporar y Galler y in Fayet tev ille, Nor th Carolina in 2016. His exhibit ions include, but are not limited to the K D Morris Ar t Galler y group inv it at ional in Holden Beach, Nor th Carolina and The Paul Har t ley Legac y Exhibit ion in Lee Hansley Galler y in Raleigh, Nor th Carolina. Galler y 208 inv ites the public to at tend the recept ion for Vantage Point: the Paintings of Daniel Reeves on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 bet ween 5:30 - 7 p.m. The ar t ist w ill t alk about his work at 6 p.m. The exhibit ion and ar t- ist recept ions at Galler y 208 are f ree to the public. Vantage Point: the Paintings of Daniel Reeves w ill remain up at Galler y 208 unt il late June 2016. Located at Up and Coming Week ly, 208 Rowan St reet, the galler y hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For informat ion call 484-6200. COVER STORY A Needle in a Haystack (Left) A Loving Family (Below) SONI MARTIN, Professor at Fayetteville State University, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200