“INTERPLAY” is an intriguing new exhibition on display at UpMarket Gallery. Though working in different mediums, Walton and Miles share a visual language rooted in color, line, pattern, and grid. “INTERPLAY” highlights the conversation that emerges when these elements meet, overlap, and diverge.
Website: https://www.cindywalton.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/cindywaltonfineart/
Cindy Walton, a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, is a long-time resident of Asheville, North Carolina. A committed artist from childhood, Walton earned a baccalaureate degree in art from Salem College, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
The warmth and effervescence of the Florida coast and the quiet energy of mountainous Western North Carolina are both strongly evident in her work, in imagery as well as in coloration. She has developed highly personalized abstract techniques that translate and transform nature and iconography.
As a result, her paintings, whether abstract or figurative, are transformative interpretations rather than literal renderings. She is particularly expert in abstraction and use of cold wax methods and is highly respected as a teacher of the medium.
Website: https://www.juliemilesart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliemilesart/
Growing up in the flat lands of the Midwest, Julie spent many of her childhood days playing outdoors in the field behind her home and the farmlands of her family. There, she delighted in the many type of bugs and plants that called that land home. In the summer, she would wave at the hot air balloons that were launched in a nearby field. Every fall, she would marvel at the thousands of birds that would populate the that same row of trees, and unexpectedly launch into the sky in mesmerizing murmurations. At dusk, she would look to the western horizon, the warm purple hue of the backlit row of trees and pretend they were mountains. So, it made perfect sense that she would some day call Asheville, North Carolina home.
Artist Statement: This sense of wonder and play infiltrated my art and her design career. So, upon discovering the rabbit hole of fiber arts, I dove in with pure joy. From processing, carding, and spinning freshly shorn sheep fleece, to experimenting with a myriad of fibers to weave – I discovered a new medium that could express both my reverence for my farming family and love of color theory. Naturally, Anni and Josef Albers became companions in my studio as I worked. This latest series of fiber work pays homage to the slow processes of creation. This quiet time serves not only as meditation, but also nurtures my sense of belonging to the long line of spinners and weavers that have created cloth for civilizations that span many thousands of years. A long-time admirer of Cindy Walton’s work, I was thrilled when the invite came to collaborate on this exhibit. The sophisticated, yet whimsical energy of line, shape and color in Cindy’s work has been a delight to pair with my work as we’ve curated this show. “
