Rick Schaefer – Three Trees: Life-Sized Drawings

Silvermine

2017 Art of the Northeast Best in Show Award - Solo Exhibit

Rick Shaefer

Three Trees: Life-Size Drawings February 17 - March 23, 2018

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Rick Shaefer

Three Trees: Life-Size Drawings

The majority of my practice these days centers around drawing with charcoal, using a language of mark-making that is defined, gestural, and rhythmic. I do not use the charcoal in the classic manner with rubbing and smudging the tones and erasing to bring back highlights. My technique resembles the look of etching, engraving, lino or woodcut in that each line is distinct and tone is gained by crosshatching or scribbling.

The intent is to highlight the act of drawing, the myriad decisions made of putting down each mark in succession.

I’ve dedicated a good deal of time to depicting flora and fauna, trying to imbue in these portraits a stillness and a dignity that will resonate with the viewer. The Three Trees shown here stem from a fascination with the majesty and the ponderous bulk of these two fallen Oaks and the exquisite complexity of the underside of the pulled up Sycamore stump: views that we might pass by without notice if they were not pulled from their surroundings and placed directly before us in a space that allows extended consideration and contemplation. Hopefully in this isolated stillness they can communicate with us in a more palpable way.

There is a strong 16th and 17th century Dutch, Flemish and German influence running through my landscape and botanical drawings. I spent a good portion of my formative years living in northern Europe and I think the mood of this artistic genre, with its operatic skies and windy vistas, resonates with me still. Much of the Dutch still life and landscape art tradition is permeated with symbolism and imbued with narratives that transcend the actual scene depicted. Many were memento mori pieces, meant as reflections on mortality and the transient nature of existence.

2018

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Uprooted (Sycamore)

Charcoal on vellum mounted on aluminum,diptych, 65" x 84", $18,000

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White Oak

Charcoal on vellum mounted on aluminum, triptych, 58" x 200" , $25,000

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Van Breems Oak

Charcoal on vellum mounted on aluminum; five panels, 60" x 234" , $25,000

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Brangus

Charcoal on vellum mounted on aluminum, 42" x 65", $12,500

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Belgian Blue

Charcoal on vellum mounted on aluminum, 42" x 65", $12,500

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Board Of Trustees Chair Rose-Marie Fox Vice Chairs Robin Jaffee Frank* Barbara Linarducci* Secretary Shirley Leung Treasurer Grace Tang Board Members Mark Carta David Dunlop Stephanie Joyce William Hilson Joseph J. Kais Rob Mallozzi, Emily McDermott Roger Mudre Karen Neems Guild Co-Chairs David Dunlop Roger Mudre* * Ex-Officio

Honorary Board Cynthia Guest Roger Mudre Sally Sheehy Leonard Tow Diana Wege 14

Gallery Staff Gallery Director Roger Mudre roger@silvermineart.org 203.966.9700 x26 Gallery Associates Zach Dunn Teresa Gay Leslie Cullen

Silvermine Arts Center is a nearly century-old organization dedicated to excellence in art and art education that inspires creativity and builds community. Located on five bucolic acres, Silvermine encompasses a School of Art with over 4,000 annual enrollments; an Outreach Education Program serving 1,000 under-resourced students annually; a Guild of over 300 professional artists; an outdoor Sculpture Walk; a permanent print collection; and five free, public galleries exhibiting contemporary art.

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