Founders Gallery – March – Dennis Childs – Florida Impressions
Florida Impressions by Dennis Childs
Opening March 5, 4-7pm
Artist’s Talk 6pm
Exhibition through March 27
Impressionism was born in France in the 1860s. The movement grew tired of academic teaching’s emphasis on depicting subject matter with literary overtones. Until then, paintings were done in the studio from field sketches. The impressionists instead chose to downgrade the subject matter and shift attention to the artist’s manipulation of color, light, tone and texture. Painting shifted to en plein aire, where the artist dispassionately painted the colors they saw at a moment in natural light.
Dennis Childs brings the impressionist style to Florida landscapes and other outdoor scenes. The subjects are familiar, but the colors and textures may not be. Childs captures landscapes that may have existed but for a moment, and only to have been witnessed by him. It’s intoxicating to see a scene you’ve seen, but not like Childs’ rendering. In the impressionist tradition, Childs paints en plein aire. See a Florida you’ve never seen before.