Pryor Fine Art

Kenson: Exhibition of new work, opening Friday, February 3rd

2012-02-01T12:45:00.004-05:00

This week we want to feature the "Under the Surface" Q&A, with Kenson. This Friday we will open a new show featuring the work of Kenson, Katharina Chapuis, and Courtney J Garrett. This show exhibits some beautiful work by all three of these very talented, evocative artists.

We hope you can join us on Friday night from 6-9. All three of the artists will be in attendance.

Now let's hear more from Kenson about her work and what inspires her!

PFA: Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up? Your family?

I grew up outside of Macon Ga…with Moma, Papa, one sister, lots of pets, friends and cousins.

PFA: How would you say our background influenced your career? And at what age did you become curious about art?

6 or 7 I can remember having glue and paper, beads drawing with water on the trampoline…making pinestraw forts, collecting rocks in the little creek, changing the layout of my hotwheel collection….getting in trouble for drawing on my white jeans with pens…watching my grandmother paint porcelain and making peach ice cream with grandparents after climbing the trees and handing them down….trips to the beach and to a little place in the country where we camped and where my Papa built a lake….

PFA: What inspires you, and how do you stay inspired? How has this shaped your artistic philosophy?

Most everything inspires me…it is sometimes a part of my thoughts and heart that i would like to slow down or sometimes turn off…yet it is and i believe always has been a part of me….this insatiable curiosity….As life continues to happen my inspiration has changed..during painful times art is my refuge and sometimes i think i am more creative, yet a beautiful hike in the woods offers much ….An artist friend in the mountains and I will go for a walk and become fascinated with the bark on the trees, patterns and colors of moss on the rocks,woodpecker carvings getting lost in that environment is a favorite!

People and I artists I am surrounded by often comment on the uninhibited manner in which I paint…that I am walking around the garden and come back and forth to the paint…the experience adds to the story I am recording with each painting….

PFA: What artist(s) has (have) had the biggest influence on your work?

Jean Michael Basquiat…Walter Anderson…poetry of many, Robert Henri, Matisse…Joan Mitchell…Lee Krasner...

PFA: What is your artistic philosophy?

well….on a continuous effort to organize my time in a scheduled fashion….I have a difficult time with routine and I feel it would be beneficial, but when I am inspired I can't help but stay with the paintings and work for hours and hours….

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working in the studio?

home, children coming and going, birds at the feeder outside my window, collections of branches and flowers from the woods or the store, music from classic to the rolling stones…and paints….on a pallette or squeezed right on the canvas, baby wipes and solvent.

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not painting?

hiking,biking, traveling, visiting friends, cooking, gardening…getting in the water…and reading

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?

difficult one….love New York City with the excitement, opportunities and pace of that city life… and traveling by train in Europe…..

PFA: If you weren't an artist, what would you be? I can't imagine?

2012-01-24T10:00:00.007-05:00

Coming up on February 3rd, we will open a new exhibition featuring three very talented female artists: Katharina Chapuis, Kenson, and Courtney J Garrett. This post will feature our "Q&A", UNDER THE SURFACE, with Courtney J. Garrett. We hope you will join us on Friday, Feb. 3rd from 6-9. All three ladies will be attending the opening.

Under The Surface

PFA: Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up? Your family?

I grew up in the heart of very rural Alabama. My sisters and I are about as close as sisters can get, and they having always been my number one fans. My mother was a tole painter and my father was a draftsman. I think of them often while working--- my mother painted on a lot of my clothes and my father worked an extra job drawing when I was born to pay the bills…I keep his drawing tools pinned up on the wall in my studio--- It reminds of their sacrifice and passion. Family now is growing and changing, I never dreamed that I would be married to someone who encouraged my passions so intensely. My husband, has rallied behind every move—and hand in hand we have walked through some great creative triumphs together.

PFA: How would you say our background influenced your career? And at what age did you become curious about art?

I was always making things for as long as I can remember. My favorite parts of the day were always the “free thinking” moments. I seemed to constantly excel is public speaking, writing, and the language arts. As for my background, it provided a visual basis for what I knew and what I visually could understand. I had very limited travel experience, and did not even board an airplane until my 21^st birthday…it was 2 seater prop plane flown by my husband. I believe from that point forward, I realized I was going to experience things much bigger than me. Years later, and with many world travels under my belt…I still look back at the south with much visual integrity. For some reason, I was born with the notion that there was a lot outside of my Alabama upbringing, but maintained the idea that what I had known was still precious. I remember in design school hearing of other countries and constantly being absorbed in books that expanded the horizon of what I knew. It was a gift, to walk down the streets of Paris and feel like I had been there a million times, but still be able to close my eyes and see white front porch swings and my great grandmother’s handmade tiny cotton dresses. I didn’t have a clue how to use a camera but something electric happened when you put it in my hand. My mother, my dad, and my sisters would take turns driving me around town so that I could photograph behind the glass of a moving car. It was the first time, Wal-Mart’s and strip malls didn’t make since to me anymore. I realized there was an incessant need to save the southern American landscape or at least document it as it dissolved. The day one of my favorite houses that I had photographed for years got bulldozed…I was so upset I called the fire department to make sure it would happen properly. If something as horrific as that, could happen properly. I was living out of state at the time and my parents drove to the demolition site with there own cameras and photographed the carnage. My sweet mother was literally climbing over piles of debris when she was kindly asked to leave. The firemen sat her and my dad artifacts to the side of the rubbish that they in turn brought home for me as keepsakes. I can’t describe what circles in my head when I discuss the visual imagery I absorbed as a child, but I can promise that my work is a conduit for it. I can’t escape the memories of my fathers old green truck and hanging my head out the window screaming in excitement for a truck ride to the car parts junkyard…or climbing on the back of the junkyard dog that lived there, and riding him around like a horse. You just can’t erase those things…and sometimes in attempt to “move up” in society, I think we do forget the most precious visuals we own.

PFA: What inspires you, and how do you stay inspired? How has this shaped your artistic philosophy?

Visually, I am intrigued by artifacts- I am constantly surrounding myself with natural curiosities…and it keeps me thinking… I get on kicks where I collect things and after a few months of carrying them around or staring at them long enough they become my work. I’m also music crazy—I don’t paint without music and certain compilations. Also, this past year I learned what the word “grace” actually means for me as a person. The forgiveness, love, and acceptance in this tiny little word has shifted my paradigm from simply emotional works to extravagant attempts at inspiring hope. This required more and more contemplation, research and study. How to evoke emotion was easy for me, but how to engage the most withdrawn individual with simple color and imagery took completely absorbing myself into the work.

PFA: What artist(s) has (have) had the biggest influence on your work?

Firstly and most passionately it would be Matisse… at 80 years of age feeble and bed ridden, he was still creating works of art from his bedside…they hung paper on the walls and he drew with charcoal attached to a pole. I knew I wanted to be that driven, and I knew my passions had to run that deep. My heart beat faster when I was a young painter and I read those words…something rose up in me to create at all times and to be completely involved with something that must come into existence.

Secondly, to Maya Lin, one of the most thought provoking artist and architects of our time. At age 21 she designed the Vietnam memorial and thousands upon thousands began to engage. She has the simple ability to create spaces and works of art that encounter the whole person, and the whole heart… I remember holding her book in my hands for the first time and contemplating it’s size and shape…she is constantly inviting the viewer to great moments of reflection. I have always been moved by her ability to anticipate the moment of encounter between art and observer—with that anticipation she creates successfully broad yet intimate works. Works that cause us to interact beyond our initial expectation.

Thirdly, to William Christenberry . Who made famous the Southern Landscape he grew up on… when I first picked up William Christenberry’s work I didn’t feel alone anymore. His passions for the rural south echoed my own, but with the maturity I desired.

PFA: What is your artistic philosophy?

Be honest, and unapologetic.

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working in the studio?

Food… and lots and lots of music, and my life sized (foam) horse gifted to me by my friend Todd Murphy.

Although, my contemporaries would argue that it’s my propane heater. I physically cannot work when it is cold. (and we do not have heat so this can often be a problem)…

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not painting?

I’m always painting. Really. I mean it.

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?

Paris. No need to elaborate.

PFA: If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

A contemporary dancer.

"Under the Surface with Elise Morris"

2012-01-17T11:07:00.007-05:00

Under The Surface:

This month we are featuring the work of California Artist, Elise Morris. Read below to learn more about Elise and her inspirations.

PFA: Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up? Your family?

I grew up in Southern California with my parents and younger brother. We had a big backyard and my brother and I had a very funky tree house. We made a museum for rocks and mixed up ‘chemistry’ concoctions. Looking back we were very creative kids.

PFA: How would you say your background influenced your career? And at what age did you become curious about art?

I have always been artistic, especially as a young child. My mom was a wonderful seamstress and made all kinds of crafts. Making things with my hands was second nature. I started taking art classes outside of school when I was seven. Throughout school I had amazing art teachers who encouraged me every step of the way.

In college, I had to major in art in order to take art classes, so I ended up doing a double major with Environmental Studies. I had become very focused on environmental issues and felt that was going to be my career. My art major became more and more important to me, and I really grew artistically.

PFA: What inspires you, and how do you stay inspired? How has this shaped your artistic philosophy?

I am deeply inspired by color. Achieving certain color shades or intensities can really drive a painting. Currently I seem to be drawn to more subtle color shifts and reflections of light. I am also interested in the shapes found in nature, how they can be so unexpected. There is a lot of detail that is overlooked, and my goal is to really see my surroundings. Painting is a way of understanding something I have seen.

PFA: What artist(s) has (have) had the biggest influence on your work?

I have a vivid memory seeing work by Terry Winters at the Temporary Contempory in Los Angeles. I was a teenager at the time, and I remember being utterly disturbed and frightened by his large abstract paintings. The work was raw and immediate, and not at all about beauty. At the same time I was in love with paintings by Bonnard, and his gorgeous way with color and light. On another museum visit, I was blown away by the power of the sculptures by Martin Puryear. His oversized, elegant forms seemed to live and breathe. Seeing work in person has always been important, and I had been blessed as a young person to have that opportunity.

Last year I saw Squeak Carnwath give an artist’s talk at the Oakland Museum. Her studio is actually just several blocks from mine. She talks about being present in her work – even though my work is really different, I am very influenced by her approach. Similarly, I love reading Agnes Martin’s writings about her process.

PFA: What is your artistic philosophy?

My work is really about following intuition. I am very interested in process. I don’t sketch or otherwise prepare for a painting. I start with a pencil line drawing and build the surface in many, many layers.

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working in the studio?

I love my studio to be completely quiet, just the hum of the fan and once in a while the train in the distance. I find music distracting – I need to hear my own voice. I also need pads of paper, since I write myself lots of to do-lists as I paint. And right now in winter, large mugs of green tea and my radiator heater!

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not painting?

My focus right now is on my son. On the weekends we take long outings at parks, doing errands, or going to the zoo. He’s three so everything is fun! I bring along my camera and loads of snacks and we spend the whole morning together. Then we head back for naptime. I have just started taking him to museums and also on short hikes. He has a wonderful ability to see the smallest detail, which I am learning to do myself.

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?

One summer in college, I met my friend, Anne, in Oxford where she was studying abroad, and we traveled to Italy. We only took backpacks and bought a guidebook on the way. I had a list written by an art professor of must see paintings, mostly in small town churches. It was an amazing way to see the country.

More recently I spent two weeks in the Bitterroot Valley in Montana with my family. We stayed in a house right on a river. We saw so much wildlife, including a moose and her calf. We explored the whole area, and my son became quite the little hiker.

PFA: If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

A zookeeper! I love to be around animals, they are so instinctual. As a teenager I worked for a woman who cared for exotic animals who were being rehabilitated. I experienced some pretty unbelievable things, between getting kicked by an ostrich and raising a baby raccoon. That experience had a profound impact on me and I will forever be an animal lover. For the time being, my son and I frequent the zoo and marvel at all the creatures together

2012-01-13T13:40:00.009-05:00

During the month of January, we will feature new work by California artists Ursula O'Farrell and Elise Morris.

Ursula's dramatic figurative work, done in the abstract expressionist style, is soulful and sensual. As the artist says, "I think we work too much in our minds, trusting science over our emotional intelligence. In effect, I think we turn our backs on the abundance available to us if we just learn to listen to whatever we call that voice of our soul".

Elise Morris paints abstracted florals that are beautifully colored, and are inspired by nature's beauty.

We hope you will come by during the month and see this wonderful body of work.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-27T14:54:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Pryor Fine Art! 2012 will be an important year for the gallery and for our collectors. We believe that our effort to find the most inspiring and dynamic contemporary American artists has culminated in presenting some amazing solo and group shows.

The artists chosen for a 2012 show are masters of their execution and style. Ursula O’Farrel for example, is well known for her dramatic figurative work. For striking color and an ethereal beauty, there is no better than the work of Elise Morris. Courtney J Garrett is a young artist currently soaring to the top of her career with her atmospheric landscapes and mixed media work. A new artist to PFA, Katharina Chapuis, is a Swiss born artist and innovator in her use of space and hue. Also innovative is the immensely talented Atlanta artist Dusty Griffith. Through his use of mixed media, specifically encaustic, and a depth of color, he creates a restful space for the eye to relax and enjoy. More Atlanta artists include Kenson and Felice Sharp, exhibiting new work in Spring shows that will not fail to impress. Kenson, with one of the most unique styles in our stable, will present new works of figurative, still life and abstract for her upcoming show. The ever strong and spellbinding figures and landscapes of Felice Sharp capture our imagination every time.

The Spring season will conclude with shows by Santa Fe artist Peter Burega. Peter’s multi-layered complex landscapes impress us each year. Lastly, we are very happy to welcome Atlanta artist Helen Durant to the gallery. Her work has captivated us for many years and we cannot wait to share her work with you.

The shows we are presenting for 2012 have been carefully curated with our broad range of collectors in mind. We look forward to seeing you this year. Please visit the gallery at our new location on Miami Circle to see our complete inventory or online at www.pryorfineart.com

Under the Surface: Saliha Staib

2011-03-09T10:50:00.009-05:00

PFA: Tell us about your background.
Staib: I grew up in Mulhouse (Alsace Lorraine, France) and my husband was born in Paris, France. We moved to the States 10 years ago for my husband's work as a plant manager in a chemical plant. We have 3 kids, Jules (16), Antoine (14), and Edward(9). Two boys are all bilingual and Edward is trilingual (English, French, Spanish).

PFA: How would you say our background influenced your career? And at what age did you become curious about art?
Staib: My background did influence my career as one of my family's friend was an art teacher in the Ecole des Beaux Arts and a painter. He always encouraged me since an early age to develop my passion and talent for the arts.

PFA: What inspires you, and how do you stay inspired? How has this shaped your artistic philosophy?
Staib: My inspiration is drawn from the surroundings of my every day life as well as my dreams and accumulation of feelings and sensations. Art is my own language of communication which is created by the soul for another soul -- like a silent poetry.

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working in the studio?
Staib: I need to listen to music (classical, rock, or alternative music).

PFA: What artist(s) has (have) had the biggest influence on your work?
Staib: Pierre Bonnard, Richard Diebenkorn, Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly were some of the painters who influenced me.

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not painting?
Staib: I love playing tennis (actually I play in a league 4.0), and running a lot, as well as running marathon when I have the time. I love skiing. Reading is also one of my pastimes.

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?
Staib: Summer vacations in our home in the South of France is my favourite time to relax.

PFA: If you weren’t an artist – what would you be?
Staib: Psychology would have been my career if I were not a painter.

Under the Surface: Jeff Cohen

2010-10-13T13:20:00.014-04:00

PFA: Tell us about where you grew up and about your family?

Cohen: I grew up in a lot of different places. My father worked for IBM, and we got transferred from New York to Florida, finally ending up in Atlanta in the early seventies. My mother's family is from North Carolina, so I spent every summer as a child on Carolina Beach, where my grandfather built a little cottage in 1933. The cottage is still there and I have put a lot of hours into keeping it going over the years.

PFA: How did your background influence your career?

Cohen: The beach is the closest thing I have to home, in the sense of a place where my childhood memories flourish. Having that has taught me the value of nostalgia, a major component in much of my landscape work. My fascination with water towers stems from this feeling; that iconic imagery that tells you from a distance that you're approaching familiar territory. The beach also taught me about the beauty of decay and weathered surfaces. I've watched things affected by the elements year after year until they attain that peculiar quality I associate with antiquity. It gives you a humbling sense of your own temporary nature; something else I've tried to convey with my paintings.

PFA: At what age did you become curious about art?

Cohen: My father has a wonderful innate artistic ability. He used to draw half a picture and have me finish it, as far back as I can remember. I received praise for my artistic talent from the time I first started making marks on paper and walls. I'm not sure I really showed that much special talent, but my parent's encouragement cemented my desire. By the time I was five, I was fully invested in my identity as an artist. It was then that my mom signed me up for art lessons with an artist friend of hers. I can remember my teacher setting up a still life with some alphabet blocks and a teddy bear for me to paint with tempera. After I worked on it for a while, the teacher kindly took the brush from my hand and said "look what happens when I make these ovals on the feet!" She then PAINTED ON MY ART WITH THE BRUSH. Defilement! I was so mad. That was a seminal moment for me. I think I have resisted artistic instruction ever since.

PFA: What inspires you? And, how do you stay inspired?

Cohen: There's a magical quality to certain kinds of images that I never tire of. I love living in the age of digital photography, when I can capture those incredible scenes whenever I come across them. I'm most drawn to the interaction between natural and man-made things: a glorious cloud-strewn sky behind a majestic, dilapidated water tower, or rusted bolts on an old sign. But I'm also drawn to graceful curves and the play of light on ordinary objects. It's the unexpected beauty that appeals to me most, found in places where it's least looked for. I try to have my camera with me as much as possible, so I can capture those moments when they happen. I also draw a lot of stuff from my head to keep the machinery oiled. I find that going off on tangents with my imagination seems to use a different part of my brain than the representational work. Doing one helps with the other, and is kind of refreshing.

PFA: What is your artistic philosophy?

Cohen: Long ago art had a very different purpose. There was a time when prodigious artistic skill was prized for recording imagery that would otherwise have been lost. Now we have photography for that, and the artist's role has become less definable. But even when the artist's role was more practical, people formed emotional connections with inspiring images that went beyond the pragmatic. That inspirational link is why art has persisted in all cultures throughout the world. The method of creating art, the subject matter, and the relationship to representation are all secondary to the message. That's why I love all kinds of art, from abstract expressionism to traditional realism to everything in between. I think the human connection to art is primal: we recognize signs and artifacts that have clearly been created by other humans and immediately feel a connection with them. I don't like to analyze it too much. If the connection is there for you, the art is working.

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working in the studio?
Cohen: My iPod. Okay, my paint and brushes help too.

PFA: What artist(s) has(have) had the biggest influence on your work?
Cohen: When I was very young I became fascinated with Leonardo (that's Leonardo, not "Da Vinci." That's one of my pet peeves! Vinci was where he came from.) I think I identified with the fact that he started so many amazing projects that he never finished. Yes, he completed many things as well, but that guy left a lot of big things uncompleted! My parents' basement was littered with the promising beginnings of many of my grand schemes. I used to make stop=motion super 8 films. I built model robots by buying model kits of tanks and planes and using the pieces for my original creations. I had all sorts of crazy inventions going, most of which I just didn't have the skill to pull off to my satisfaction. Years later, I was diagnosed with ADD. Now I've learned to manage that through medication coping techniques, and I'm happy to say that my creativity is flourishing - and I can actually finish things now! It makes me wonder. What would Leonardo have been able to do if he had Ritalin? Hmmm...

I also love Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and Mark Ryden.

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not working?
Cohen: I like working in the garden, and traveling with my wife. I started going on cruises a couple of years ago, and discovered that it's a great way to see other parts of the world.

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?
Cohen: My wife and I went cave tubing in Belize. It was a religious experience. The rain forest is all it's cracked up to be, and more.

PFA: If you weren't an artist - would you be doing?
Cohen: For me, that's like saying, "if you didn't have a head, where would you put your hat?" If I wasn't an artist, I wouldn't be me. I've done other things in my life to make a living, but I was still an artist. It's too much a part of my identity for me to imagine anything else!

Courtney J. Garrett Commissioned by Dian Fossey Foundation

2010-09-08T16:52:00.010-04:00

Open, 58x48, mixed media

Earlier this year, Courtney J. Garrett was commissioned by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to create a series of original works inspired by the personal belongings of Dian Fossey. These personal effects include newspapers, maps, clothing, field notes, grocery lists, and budgets. Garrett has carefully documented all of the artifacts with her camera and thoughtfully arranged them into a special group of paintings using her well-recognized mixed media technique. Five of these important pieces will be up for auction at the 3rd Annual Fundraising Event for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International: "Gorillas in our Midst: A Primate Production." The event will be an evening filled of art, fashion, education and culture. Shop the Rawandan market and explore the lush Rainforest nesteled between Mt. Karisimbi and Mt. Visoke. Peruse the bazaar where you'll find exquisite jewelry, authentic artifacts, savory bites and refreshing beverages. Mind your step and maintain your awareness for the amazing finds you will encounter as you venture into the invigorating Rainforest - from Original Art & Sculptures, to wearable art and fashions, decor, live performances and more.

Details for the event:

Thursday, September 23
7pm - 10pm

Atelier 1789
1789 Ellsworth Industrial
Atlanta, GA 30318

Dress: Safari Chic

General Ticket - $125
Host Patron - $250 (includes VIP Wine Tasting hosted by 10 Degrees South)

To RSVP to this event, please contact Elyse Christensen - echristensen@gorillafund.org

All works that have not been sold at auction will be coming to Pryor Fine Art. To learn more about these works, or any of Courtney J. Garret's work available at Pryor Fine Art, please call Ginger Ann Clark at (404) 352-8775.

Dennis Campay Featured Artist for High Arts Day

2010-09-03T12:16:00.005-04:00

High Above the High, 36x48, mixed media on canvas on board

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta will host the 15th Annual High Arts Day on Monday, November 15, 2010, from 8:00am to 3:30pm. High Arts Day is a fundraiser presented by Art Partners, the social and volunteer organization at the High. The day's events will include a reception and private shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, a luncheon at the High, two private Atlanta home tours, exhibition tours of "Salvador Dali: The Late Work" and "Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting," a trunk show and a silent auction of original art by featured artist, Dennis Campay.

Dennis Campay has created an original work, High Above the High, for the occasion, and is the featured painting for the High Arts Day Auction. Opening bid will start at $5,500. If you are interested in bidding on High Above the High, but can't attend High Arts Day you can bid by proxy by contacting Sue Mckinley at 404-630-3265 or suemckinley@me.com. To attend, tickets are $150 ($80 tax-deductible) and all proceeds benefit the High. Ticketing inquiries can be addressed to the High Museum's Annual Programs Manager at 404-733-4429 or by visiting www.high.org/highartsday.

On Sunday, October 24, the Gold Patron Evening will feature an exhibition tour by top Museum curators followed by an exclusive dinner reception at the home of designer Suzanne Kasler, with featured artist, Dennis Campay, who is represented by Pryor Fine Art. Gold Patrons make a $500 minimum contribution ($400 tax-deductible) in support of High Arts Day. The contribution includes two tickets to the Gold Patron event, one ticket to High Arts Day, a unique Gold Patron gift, and recognition in the event program.

Pryor Fine Art has available works by Dennis Campay at the gallery as well, click here to see, or call us at 404-352-8775.

Senses of Summer

2010-07-27T14:21:00.018-04:00

It feels like I can see, hear, touch, smell and taste the heat these days. If you're trying to escape the hot sun by retreating inside, here are some ways to bring the senses of summer into your home without having to sweat. All of these pieces evoke some sense of summer for me, whether it be in their subject, their color, or just overall feel.

First we'll start with my favorite sense, TASTE. There is no better way to cool-off in the summer than sipping on an ice, cold Coca-Cola. And I'm talking about the real deal Classic, no Diet or Zero. Artist, Kim Frohsin, whose roots are in Atlanta, lives and works in San Francisco. She pays tribute to the soft-drink icon in these amazing, colorful collages of paint and actual cups with the Coca-Cola logo. They have a great Pop feel (no pun intended). These pieces will be arriving to the gallery this week:

Coke Neon
10.5x10.5

Clovers & Hearts: Spring Cokeworks
32x32

Now this is a view! Set your SIGHTS on this amazing cloudscape by Atlanta-based artist, Jeff Cohen. Jeff is perhaps best known for his depictions of water towers. Jeff painstakingly paints each individual tile, and then puts them all together to form the piece. From a distance the brain composites the image as a photograph, but upon close investigation you can see the inconsistencies from tile to tile, which makes the work even more visually interesting.

Caribbean Morning
30x45

I love all of the landscape textures in this John Folsom piece. It makes me want to reach out and TOUCH all of the earthly elements, from the bark on the gnarled oak trees, to the Spanish moss, the spiky palm fronds and the dirt on the ground. Nothing speaks heat like Southern imagery, and nothing could be more southern than moss dripping from an old oak tree.

Cumberland Island Sea Camp V
60x48

Lisa Lala's bird-on-a-wire paintings evoke a great sense of community and family. When you see the birds its as if you can HEAR their chatter and chirps. Lala furthers that notion by including bits and pieces of her own personal thoughts into each painting. With a heavy use of a palette knife, these pieces have really great texture, and feel-good color.

Blue Skies Ahead
60x48

If you're familiar with Marc Civitarese's work, you're probably used to seeing his marsh scenes which contain great movement and light. This piece is different for Marc in that it captures either the Ocean or the Sea, in either case the perspective he uses makes you feel as if you are in the water and can SMELL the salty air. This particular piece also gives you an immediate sense of calm (regardless of the painting's title).

Unsettled
30x30

To bring a little summer into your home, feel free to give us a call at the gallery, 404-352-8775, or check out more works by these and other artists on our web site.

Under the Surface: John Folsom

2010-07-15T14:45:00.011-04:00

We are thrilled that artist, John Folsom has decided to join Pryor Fine Art. Folsom has been a recognizable name in the Atlanta art world for years, and is recognized for his idealized Southern landscapes. Read below to learn a little more about John Folsom.

PFA: Tell us about your background. Where did you grow-up? Your family?

FOLSOM: I grew up in Paducah Kentucky and was surrounded by a creative and multi talented family. My mother is a piano teacher and my father is a Classical and Jazz music enthusiast so there was always music in the house growing up. They were also big lovers of art and painting and had in their possession a Hudson River School piece from the 19th century...certainly a huge source of inspiration for me.

PFA: How did your background influence your career?
FOLSOM: My mom established a puppet company sometime in the early 70's and my siblings and I were conscripted into service as puppet makers, scene designers and recording artists, laying down stories on tape for the puppets to perform. I've always felt that my work was something akin to set design...kind of a silent witness for human interaction.

PFA: At what age did you become curious about art?

FOLSOM: I would have to say I was a late bloomer. I started college as a music major but decided to take a course in basic B/W photography when I was 19. After the first day of class I went home and told my mom that I was changing my major to photography, she did not take the news well but now I think she would agree that everything turned out okay.

PFA: What inspires you? How do you stay inspired?

FOLSOM: I try to stay current with what's going on in the city of Atlanta but I also look at a lot of art blogs...Hiking and camping are activities which also keep me engaged in the process of creativity. A few days on Cumberland Island and your ready for anything!

PFA: What is your artistic philosophy?

FOLSOM: To create an environment or potential space where all things are possible.

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working in the studio?

FOLSOM: MUSIC!

PFA: What artist(s) has (have) had the biggest influence on your work?

FOLSOM: Good question...Rauschenberg of course, Eva Hess, David Hockney, but probably this biggest influence is the work of Mike and Doug Starn whom I discovered in about 1988...they were really interested in thinking about the medium of photography in new and inventive ways.

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not working?

FOLSOM: Hiking, reading Jerry Saltz, and enjoying molecular gastronomy.

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?

FOLSOM: One that involves a forest or an ocean.

PFA: If you weren’t an artist – what would you be?

FOLSOM: Maybe an architect?...For Renzo Piano to create something as sublime as the Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland surely is proof of the divine.

Under the Surface: Lisa Lala

2010-06-07T10:57:00.009-04:00

This installment of "Under the Surface" features artist, Lisa Lala. Lala is perhaps best known at Pryor Fine Art for her bird on a wire paintings, but we are excited to be featuring her List Wall Project at the gallery on June 25, 2010.

PFA: Tell us about your background - where did you grow up? your family?

Lala: I grew up here in the Midwest. I also had the opportunity to see some of the world because we frequently traveled to other countries doing volunteer dentistry. This was important because I got to meet a lot of good people that were different than me, but also because I got to see how powerful a person could be in just one day. In one day my Dad pulled 300 teeth out of miserable aching mouths and made all of those people feel better. Now that is power.

In addition to dentistry, my father was an artist, and my mother was a full time artist too. The entire lower level of my childhood home was a huge studio for my mother, and I had my own little area set up in a corner, so I could work on my own projects in her studio.

PFA: How did your background influence your career? And when did you become curious about art?

Lala: Clearly being the only daughter of two artists was very influential to my knowing that I was an artist from a very young age. In addition to that, I was also strongly influenced when I painted in master abstract painter Philomene Bennett's studio for 3 years.

Just after I was born in Fairfield California (right outside of Berkley), we moved to Manhattan, Kansas. My parents had lots of progressive ideas, like that I should NEVER have a coloring book (stifles creativity), and that I should always have lots of blank paper and art materials available. I always "knew" I was an artist, but I think that really became solidified when I was in second grade. My amazing second grade teacher told me if I just drew her pictures and wrote poems, I didn't have to bother with the other school work.

PFA: What inspires you? And how do you stay inspired?

Lala: EVERYTHING inspires me. Life is so inspiring. And I never have enough time to paint all of the colors and pictures in my head. My studio is adrift in piles of things I have ripped out from everywhere because I will love a color, shape or a quote. Also when I am working on a painting, everything around me starts playing in...including my thoughts, what's on the radio, something I've just read, the music, what's lying around the studio, etc.

PFA: What is your artistic philosophy?

Lala: One thing that I firmly believe is that there are many different kinds of art, just like all the different categories of books in a library. And they all count. Fiction and non-fiction, comic books, poetry, religion, newspapers, historical, political satire, etc. etc. It is the same with art. Art is when you express yourself by creating something. You may find you like certain kinds more than others...but it is all art.

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working?

Lala: Lots of paint. I buy hundreds of dollars of paint every few months. Running low is a disaster. I have also felt strongly that I needed to love my studio. Being in a dark garage or basement was never something I would consider. My first studio was in my kitchen (I didn't have time to cook anyway). Now we have just finished a wing on the house we are building, and it is a great space with good energy and light.

PFA: What artist or artists has/have the biggest influence on your work?

Lala: Painting in Philomene Bennett's studio was a huge influence. Painting there with many other artists doing their own unique thing was powerful. But not a week goes by that I see a new artist whose work doesn't bring me to my knees. My husband and I love collecting art, and are so grateful for the modest paintings we have purchased.

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not working?

Lala: Many years ago, my husband and I wrote a list of the things we would like to do "some day." Well, one of those things was to build our own home with "our own hands." We are nearly done now, after SIX years of hard work, many mistakes, and many triumphs both large and small. We are extremely grateful to all of our friends, family, and neighbors who helped us - it turns out that "our own hands" was a misjudgment. Without the hands of these other people, we would never have made it.

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?

Lala: I love going places that are new and seeing new ideas. But then I love bringing those ideas back, just as much as the trip itself. Love to travel, love to return. I'm excited about traveling with the List Wall - I love how it is connecting people, communities, and ideas.

PFA: If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

Lala: Although my life is full of many challenges, it is PERFECT. Life is always changing. I'm enjoying right now, and looking forward to whatever is next.

Under the Surface: Madeline Denaro

2010-05-05T15:16:00.014-04:00

Welcome to our first installment of "Under the Surface," Pryor Fine Art's Artist Q&A series, where we take a peek into our artists' work, lives, and inspiration. Our first interview is with new gallery artist, Madeline Denaro. Pryor Fine Art (PFA) will be introducing Denaro's work starting May 14, 2010. Let's get started!

PFA: Tell us about your background. Where did you grow-up? Your family?
DENARO: I was born and raised in the Bronx, New York of Irish Catholic parents and educated for the first 12 grades by the Ursuline nuns.

PFA: How did your background influence your career?
DENARO: My mother was very visual, and always explored the use of color and design in everyday living. I think this influence combined with my father’s strong mathematical and mechanical mind instilled something that became very essential in me.

PFA: At what age did you become curious about art?
DENARO: My first creative instincts were in fashion design and my first drawing skills were fashion sketches.

PFA: What artist(s) has (have) had the biggest influence on your work?
DENARO: I always had an affinity to the figure and at one time I was actually an academic figure painter. During those formative years I was greatly influenced by Rembrandt, Goya, and Vermeer. Later I earned great respect for medieval and Byzantine art. I would love to go to the Metropolitan Museum and absorb. When I started to abstract the figure my biggest influence was Frances Bacon. It was only later that Matisse, Picasso and so many others started to open my awareness of their search. Abstract Expressionism was my influence in general and Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, William de Kooning and Mark Rothko were always idols. I would say in my formation that I was most influenced by artists Richard Diebenkorn, Eva Hesse, Antoni Tapies and Joseph Beuys.

PFA: What inspires you? How do you stay inspired?
DENARO: I am involved in the study of Eastern Philosophy, especially the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff who has greatly influenced my being and definitely my art. It is through allowing oneself to be open to more of an intelligence in the whole of oneself that inspires the way that I work.

PFA: What do you need around you while you are working in the studio?
DENARO: I don’t begin with any graphic nor do any ideas concern me. Actually I shun all visual concepts at this time. The palette is also secondary to the art making and during this stage may change several times. The drawing, as an additional medium, is incorporated during the act of painting and is very much an active element in my repetitive process of adding and subtracting - as I build, destroy, erase, paint over. As the work evolves and the painting starts to take on a certain presence, the color is reconciled, form emerges and I feel that a communication starts to be buried within the surface of the piece.

PFA: What is your artistic philosophy?
DENARO: My work does not entail any social commentary nor is it a statement on the way we live. It does not concern the hollow aspects of our civilization but the mystery of its existence. To allow something that I do not control to have an action, to allow oneself to bring this action into a materiality…..this is my subject.

PFA: What is your favorite traveling experience?
DENARO: I have been fortunate to have travelled extensively and I currently show internationally. What is my favorite experience is yet another question. I loved taking in the history and culture of so many countries from Australia, to Singapore, Hong Kong, through Europe but my most powerful experience was entering a small gallery in Hyde Park, London and being struck by the overpowering work of Catalan painter, Antoni Tapies. I was so overwhelmed that I actually sat down on the gallery floor, seemingly to try to freeze that moment. The impressions of that experience are still with me. So with all my visual awareness through travelling, whatever that artist was able to touch was something much deeper, much more essential than I was able to absorb in life.

PFA: What do you most enjoy doing while you are not working?
DENARO: I think an artist is always working even though it is not necessarily consciously. Life’s impressions are always there. I have a wonderful husband and family whom I love and enjoy and two feisty Jack Russell terriers and a Siamese cat…..all who make up a large part of my visual and emotional world. I am involved with the study of philosophy which evolves into the study of oneself and all this comes together when in front of that canvas, drawing, or sculpture.

PFA: If you weren’t an artist – what would you be?
DENARO: ...a brain surgeon.

Facelift!

2010-05-04T15:38:00.007-04:00

You may have done a double-take if you have driven down Bennett Street lately. Even though we are 20 years young, we've decided to give ourselves a face lift! Check out our sparkling white exterior, and our new, modern awning. Other cosmetic changes include a space expansion to accommodate our growing stable of artists. See our work in progress below. The expansion is set to open this Thursday just in time for First Thursday.

Our new awning! Our terrazolite planters came from Kolo Collection on Howell Mill Rd.

Our new hanging sign leads the way to our expanded space.

Welcome to our expanded space!

Sheetrock is up and painted.

Paul installing the new lights.

Tomorrow we paint the floors and Thursday we'll be hanging more art. Stay tuned for the "after" photos, or come see for yourself!

Meghan Gerety Featured in Traditional Home Magazine

2010-04-06T10:01:00.005-04:00

Artist Meghan Gerety, whose work will be arriving to Pryor Fine Art in August, has a piece featured in Traditional Home's April 2010 issue, in the article entitled "Color Coded."

art ltd. magazine

2010-03-30T10:54:00.000-04:00

art ltd. magazine
Read this great review on gallery artist, Anne Siems, and her Seattle show. Pryor Fine Art looks forward to exhibiting her work in Fall 2010!

Springtime!

2010-03-24T10:54:00.023-04:00

It's officially Spring! After a brief hiccup of cold weather it looks like warm days are ahead, which means we can prop the gallery door open ;). When I think of Spring I think of many things, but mainly FLOWERS. To enjoy Spring year-round in your home, check out these artists and their varied floral works:

Click on each artist name to view a complete profile.

Craig Mooney

Crystal, 30x30, oil on canvas

Jennifer Hornyak

Fleurs Jaunes Avec Vase Rouge, 8x10, oil on canvas

Lisa Lala

Drench, 11x14, oil on glass

Susie Pryor

Sunflowers on Blue, 30x30, oil on canvas

Maggie Hasbrouck

Peony Blush, 30x40, photoencaustic

Christy Kinard

Red and White Mix, 24x36, mixed media

Beyond flowers, Spring is practically synonymous with Wedding Season. For a unique gift, try registering for art at your favorite gallery. Gifting art will give the bride and groom an original piece that they'll never forget. Consider some of these pieces:

Hot Stuff, 48x60, mixed media
Artist: Michael Cutlip

Someone to Watch Over Me, 14x16, mixed media on paper
Artist: Kenson

Classic Cupcakes, 6x8, oil on canvas
Artist: Dana Hooper

Memento II, 48x36, mixed media on panel
Artist: Laura Schiff Bean

Linen Hydrangea, 16x16, mixed media
Artist: Christy Kinard

Decorator Showhouse & Gardens

2010-03-22T12:26:00.013-04:00

Pyror Fine Art is excited to be a part of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Decorator Showhouse & Gardens located on Tuxedo Road in Buckhead. The Decorator's Showhouse raises funds for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and will run from April 17, 2010 - May 9, 2010. Womack Interiors has selected works by Lisa Lala and Jeff Chase for the Cabana, and C. Davis Luxury Lifestyles Design has selected works by Jen Bradley and Susie Pryor for the Wine Room.

Elements II, Jeff Chase

Lift, Lisa Lala

Lemons II, Jen Bradley

Rose, Susie Pryor

All art on display at the Showhouse will be for sale. To inquire about any of the pieces, feel free to contact the gallery. You will not want to miss viewing the work of Atlanta's top designers, nor the beautiful grounds, so be sure to order your tickets soon.