New Smyrna Beach, FL –– During the month of November, Arts on Douglas presents New Paintings, a solo exhibition featuring a collection of mixed media paintings by St. Augustine artist, Beau Redmond. The exhibition will be on view from November 2, 2013 through November 30, 2013 with an opening reception on Saturday, November 2 from 4-7 pm, and an artist talk on Friday, November 15 at 11am. Both events are free and open to the public.
Beau Redmond is an artist known for his southern landscapes and mixed media paintings of the New York financial district that incorporate texts and images from the pages of Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the New Yorker. Over the years, Redmond developed an interest in pursuing new themes and stylistics. Redmond’s solo exhibition, New Paintings, is the result of that pursuit, demonstrating the skill, maturity, and confidence of an artist that has secured his reputation as a professional artist. In addition to the Lincolnville and New York financial district series, the exhibition contains an array of sentimental and figurative paintings.
Much of Redmond’s body of work has been devoted to exploring the concept of place. At times, Redmond explores the concept of place through objects. For example, in the mixed media painting Tabasco, a bottle of hot sauce embodies the essence of New Orleans and its rich cultural traditions when juxtaposed with various newspaper headlines and advertisements. For Redmond, place can be defined as a site or sight, but it is always affective, tactile, visual, textual, and inhabited. "Living in St. Augustine for almost 20 years has given me an additional aesthetic boost, with the charm of the Old City, reminiscent of my New Orleans roots, and the vanishing scene of Lincolnville. These images of live oaks, nineteenth-century architecture and “everyday” people give me an opportunity to work with the sensual qualities of paint and glazing techniques" explains Redmond. Despite the specificity of place or subject matter, Redmond’s paintings are immediately recognizable and resonate with viewers. Indeed, viewers need not be explicitly aware of the intimate connection Redmond has with his subject matter in order to appreciate the clarity and perception of his visual representations.
“In the past, much of my work was firmly grounded in a sense of place. More recently, I have been interested in incorporating figurative elements in my paintings” explains the artist. Redmond’s figurative work often draws inspiration from art history or memories. “The source for Mom and Dad 1928 was a family photograph taken years ago with my mother’s Brownie camera. The sepia tone image on the dog-eared, 4.5 x 4.5 inch print inspired this interpretation on canvas with the paint colors derived from memories.” In The Reader, viewers will recognize the reference to Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s portrait Young Girl Reading. Redmond playfully modernizes the 18th century canonical image of a young girl reading by replacing the light source and object of the young girl’s attention. In Redmond’s revision, the book is replaced by an electronic reading device that illuminates the subject with a cool blue-green glow. While Redmond’s upgraded portrait is imbued with humor, that humor is never irreverent.
A native of New Orleans, Beau Redmond graduated with honors from Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, with dual majors in Economics and Fine Art. Redmond began his banking career at the Bank of New Orleans and his final corporate years at theCommercial Bank and Trust Company. Redmond continued to paint while working in the financial industry, and in 1968 and 1969 had successful exhibitions at the Downtown Gallery, in the French Quarter of New Orleans. In 1980 Redmond departed from the corporate world and began a new career as a full-time painter. His work is internationally known and his paintings can be found in many private, corporate and public collections. Redmond is in the permanent collection of the New Orleans Jazz Museum; Gulf Coast Museum in Largo, Florida; the Alabama Business Hall of Fame, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; the Alabama Capitol Complex, Montgomery; and the St. Augustine Art Association. He now resides in St. Augustine, Florida.
Opening reception: Saturday, November 2, 4 - 7pm
Exhibition dates: November 2-30, 2013
Artist Talk: Friday, November 15, 11am
The opening reception and gallery talk are free and open to the public.
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