GALLERY GUIDE Riding Through, 2023
Terry Ekasala is among a group of contemporary artists who are reinvigorating painting. Ekasala creates expressive imagery that moves between abstraction and representation. The artist employs an intuitive approach, emphasizing improvisation and process rather than a predetermined subject. She revels in complex interplays of color and texture, line, shape, and form. Amidst layered elements and dynamic brushwork, a partial figure or landscape, bird, or beast may appear to float in space, as if captured midway through transformation. In her paintings, the artist invites us to travel to interior worlds and across time. More than works of art – or objects – Ekasala’s paintings are experiences, personal journeys for artist and viewer alike. Terry Ekasala: Layers of Time features oil on linen and more intimately scaled acrylic works on paper, all created over the past two years. The largest canvases, All the Secret Harmony (Lost Tracks of Time) and Riding Through, were commissioned by BCA for this exhibition. — Heather Ferrell, Curator and Director of Exhibitions
All the Secret Harmony (Lost Tracks of Time), 2023 (detail)
CHECKLIST The Air I Breathe, 2022 oil on linen 30 x 38"
Riding Through, 2023 oil on linen 72 x 84"
All the Secret Harmony (Lost Tracks of Time), 2023 oil on linen 72 x 84"
The Scoundrel, 2023 acrylic on archival paper 18.5 x 14.5"
Backyard, 2023 oil on linen 49 x 60"
Your Heart’s a Warrior, 2023 oil on linen 70 x 60"
Blue Line, 2023 acrylic on archival paper 22 x 22" Ghosts, 2023 oil on linen 22 x 22" Innocence, 2023 oil on linen 70 x 60" Little Bird of Paradise, 2023 oil on linen 20 x 20" Making a Run for It, 2023 oil on linen 20 x 20" Midnight Sun, 2023 oil on linen 54 x 40" Passage, 2023 oil on linen 20 x 20" Reversing Tears, 2023 oil on linen 48 x 54"
Heart Strings, 2023
All the Green The Beast Boom Fire in the Hole Heart Strings It Takes So Long Landscape Love Your Freedom Northern Air On an Island in the Sun Prospecting Sans Pays You Better Run All Works Acrylic on Archival Paper, 2023, 9.5 x 7.5” each
All Works Courtesy of the Artist Price Upon Request
BIOGRAPHY
Thingumabobs, 2022
Artist’s studio, East Burke, Vermont
TERRY EKASALA investigates every aspect of the process and act of painting. Working intuitively, without a preconceived idea or composition, she explores tensions between what is overt and implied, representational and abstract. Ekasala graduated from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, FL, before moving to Paris, France, where she exhibited her work widely before returning to the United States. The artist’s paintings have been shown nationally and internationally with shows at the Bundy Modern, Waitsfield, VT; Hall Art Foundation, Reading, VT; Metal Stone Gallery, NY; PIERMARQ, Sydney, Australia; and Schönfeld Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Ekasala lives in West Burke, Vermont, and is the recipient of the 2023 Vermont Prize.
RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMS
TERRY EKASALA: GALLERY TALK Thursday, November 2, 2023, 6-7pm Join artist Terry Ekasala and curator Heather Ferrell in the gallery for an engaging conversation about Ekasala’s exhibition, Layers of Time. Learn more about the artist’s sources of inspiration, use of materials, and creative process culminating in her BCA solo exhibition.
FAMILY ART SATURDAY October 28 and January 27, 2023, 11–1pm Get creative and make art together! Adult caregivers, children, and individuals are invited to visit BCA in person for its drop-in art making program. Enjoy an activity inspired by the diverse themes and materials featured in Terry Ekasala: Layers of Time.
SCHOOL VISITS BCA gallery educators lead inquiry-driven group tours that encourage close looking, critical thinking, and thought-provoking conversation. We link these gallery conversations to hands-on art activities that explore exhibition themes, materials, and artistic processes. We welcome public, private, and homeschool students in grades pre-K to 12 and beyond. Program fee: $10 per student. Groups are invited to apply for a partial or full scholarship. Please contact Kristin Dykstra, Gallery Learning and Programs Coordinator, at kdykstra@burlingtoncityarts.org for more information or to reserve a visit.
Hospitality sponsors: Lake Champlain Chocolates, Farrell Distributing, and William Hill Estate Winery. Burlington City Arts is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council & the National Endowment for the Arts.
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