Bittersweet: Solo Exhibition by Rachael Van Dyke

Rachael Van Dyke (Boone, NC/ Grand Rapids, MI) paints abstract landscapes and figurative work inspired by living off the grid in the Blue Ridge Mountains and traveling abroad. Van Dyke is an avid artist-in-residence who has participated in national and international residencies. Residencies create new boundaries in Rachael’s work and encourage an alteration of technique and expression while forcing her to understand and come to terms with limitations. Being open to a new color palette or a new visual language to express the land and culture is a necessary adaptation. Each body of work is influenced by place and tells a story of the people and land that she’s encountered. The body of work included in Van Dyke’s solo exhibition “Bittersweet” represents the dichotomy of the dark and the beautiful within the landscape, still-life, and human heart. Rachael states, "Brittle leaves fall with gusts of autumn wind, while bright red berries burst from ochre pods. Vivid against the dark green pine and winter snow, this invasive Bittersweet vine unsuspectingly wraps a thorny grip around maturing trees. As a child, I scrambled through the woods to unwind the stubborn branches, my sweater tangled in thistle and briar. Though a nuisance to collect and carry home, I swooned over its two-toned beauty that adorned our Thanksgiving table. This October my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. Sorting through hundreds of family photos I found myself giving thanks for the bitter and the sweet moments; with gratitude for the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the laughter and the tears of our many years together. It seems that opposites must occur to enrich the human experience."

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2181213-0

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