| The five-member artist Critique Group, exhibiting September 2-26 at the Fire Hall Gallery in Charles Town, are all residents of Jefferson County, WV. This “Crit Group” meets once or more per month. The artist members bring works in progress or recently completed, for presentation and discussion.
The group follows a simple four-step approach, consisting of description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation outlined by noted Art educator and critic Edmund Burke Feldman (b. 1926) to objectively, rather than subjectively, analyze the works presented. Feldman’s text Varieties of Visual Experience is a classic; good used copies of this textbook are often available for as little as $10.
This “objective,” rather than “subjective,” approach for visual analysis encourages and informs, rather than being critical and discouraging. All visual works of art can be “appreciated.” Crit members all say they remain more inspired and productive, and profit in many ways from these supportive “critique” sessions. They encourage all artists to consider forming similar small “Crit” groups.
OMAR WILLIAMS – a multidisciplinary artist working on a BA degree at Shepherd University. Omar says that he “is seeking opportunity to share my views and visions of the world via different artistic media.” As an emerging artist, Omar has recently had his 3-D constructions and photography juried into regional and national exhibits. Omar has work on exhibit at the Burke Street Tattoo and Gallery in Martinsburg, WV, and will exhibit at the Ice House Gallery in Berkeley Spring, WV, in 2022.
KIRSTEN LEE – a painter and photographer, Kirsten roams her Kearneysville farm seeking images and ‘stories’ to pass on in paint and pixels. Kirsten says, “Crit group shines light into blind spots while igniting a synergy that beckons expression in unexpected directions.” Kirsten’s works have been exhibited regionally, and juried into local and national competitive exhibitions.
SUSAN LOONSK – an exhibiting artist, Professor Emerita, and Art Therapist. Susan shares, “I hold Art- To-Earth TM workshops exploring Art and Ecopsychology. My Mixed Media works merge images, objects, and expressions of earth, animals, and self. The pieces are often subjected to months of frigid temps, dollar store plastics, fire, ice, flood waters, and paint and lots of glue.”
DOUG KINNETT – a well-known regional painter, with an earned Doctorate in Aesthetic Education, is also the former Coordinator of the Art Education Program at Shepherd University. Doug says, “My work hovers in a pause between idea and action necessary to express that idea. Meaning is literally caught in flight from thought to marks of line and color. I value sharing my experience with my fellow crit group members. Our conversations guide my explorations into paint that is seeking meaning.”
GARY BERGEL – an interdisciplinary artist, is a member of the Blue Ridge Community and Technical College adjunct faculty, teaching Art History, Creativity, Color & Design, and Photography. Gary says, “I am about ‘seeing.’ I look for the ‘isness,’ essence, moment, historical flux and crisis, universality, and transcendence in everyday Life.” He will be exhibiting works from recent “Close to Home” and other series in the JAC/WSAC Spotlight Gallery in October and November, 2021.
Fire Hall Gallery hours are Thursday / Friday 11–5 | Saturday / Sunday 10–4 |
