Read Exhbition Review below
2009 Solo Exhibition by RACHEL STERN
at Sharon Weiss Gallery.
Features works done on location in Florence, Italy.
Dates of the Exhibit: January 1 - 30, 2009;
Artist Reception: Sunday, January 4, 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
The Sharon Weiss Gallery 20 East Lincoln St. Columbus, Ohio 43215.
www.sharonweissgallery.com

Personal Website:
www.rachelsternartist.com
 

Artist Statement 2006

“A few strokes by her paint brush can capture for all time a poignant moment, a daring lyricism, with the certitude of a poet’s fine eye.”  Elizabeth Ann James, art critic

I realize through my experience painting landscapes, figures and still life that these genre compose the fabric of our lives.  I struggle to capture the essence of each, which contributes to the fabric of our society.

In painting urban and country vistas, I paint the ordinary and the historic places.  The scene becomes important and poignant, creating a memory.  I like the dynamic tension created by these vivid contrasts in the way we live.  When painting “plein aire”, I visually listen to the landscape that surrounds me.  Immersed in it, I become one with the landscape.

Since I must manage the constantly changing light on a scene, I often start by painting quick oil sketches on board, canvas or paper to capture the light and provide a visual reference.  My brush and palette knife move swiftly to capture the light across the composition. As the light changes, I complete one oil sketch and begin another. 

My sketches become the source for future paintings.

Travel energizes me.  I travel throughout Columbus and Ohio, searching for painting opportunities.  I also paint scenes from my travels in North America and Europe.

I learn from each painting that I create.  My knowledge grows as I continue to study art at Columbus College of Art and Design and art history through participating in the Docent Program at the Columbus Museum of Art.

In Columbus, the Sharon Weiss Gallery in the Short North at 20 East Lincoln represents me.  The gallery always has a selection of paintings reflecting the various genres in which I work.

Exhibition Review:

EXHIBIT SHARON WEISS GALLERY

"Under the Tuscan sun"
  Trip to Italy inspires impressions of daily life

By Christopher A. Yates
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

For three months last year, Rachel Stern lived and worked in Florence, Italy. Her primary goal on the trip with husband Robert was an immersion in Italian culture and language. After her arrival, though, the desire to paint grew stronger and stronger: With purchased paints, brushes and gesso panels, she set to work. The result: a series of paintings on view in the Sharon Weiss Gallery.

Sketchy and with a soft focus, the paintings concentrate on everyday life in Tuscany. Most were painted outdoors and on the spot. Stern wrestles with the contrast between soft and hard. The soft is a loose, abstract impression of place, tapping the sensation of light, space and atmosphere. The hard is the application of direct, readable detail. Such detail defines the subject and provides viewers with cues to objective reality. Often, Stern slips into the abstract, favoring sensation over illusion. While the loss of detail can be problematic, in  some paintings it serves as a dramatic counterpoint. Market Square concentrates on the quality of warm and cool light filtering through narrow streets. Colors and shapes merge in the background and are set in contrast to a lone figure dramatically walking forward. In Florence, Italy/City Life, Stern explores the complex activity on a crowded street. Paintings such as Duomo From Oltrarno and Arno From Piazzale Michelangiolo concentrate on grand vistas overlooking the city. More intimate are pieces such as Piazza M. D'Azeglio and Street in Fiesole. Both focus on the subtle variations of light and shadow found in Tuscany's small parks and narrow streets.

Stern's work is a visual diary of travel and observation. Sometimes lacking formal resolution, the work is about experience instead of product. Like the knowledge gathered during a long journey or the recollection of place fading from memory, her paintings are brief moments of clarity tinged by an overarching murky haze.

• "People and Places: Paintings by Rachel Stern" continues through
Jan. 30 in the Sharon Weiss Gallery, 20 E. Lincoln St. Hours: 1 to 4
p.m. Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 5 p.m. Fridays
and Saturdays. Call 614-291-5683 or 614-451-8165, or visit
www.sharonweissgallery.com

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