We’re excited to have Chantal Tomiello back with more of her stunning work, including two nine-foot acrylic paintings. This latest series, The Shape of Light: Dreaming in Color, is made up primarily of landscapes that feature her distinctive trees, water, and luminous skies. She says, “I’m drawn to those elements because they hold so much stillness and movement at once. I’m not trying to capture a specific place. It’s more about what it feels like to really be in a moment. Present. Aware. Quiet. I think there’s magic in that kind of presence—in the way light changes, or how a line leans just enough to make you pause. These paintings are a space where tension and serenity meet.” The show runs from Saturday, August 23 through Saturday Sept. 27. An opening reception is slated for the 23rd. from 5-7 p.m. Light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served. There is no charge and reservations are not required. Please join us!
Chantal Tomiello works to be featured at Sunset River Gallery Sept. 7 – Oct. 26; opening reception 5 – 7 p.m.
The Promise by Chantal Tomiello, acrylic 24″x24″
New works by Raleigh, NC artist Chantal Tomiello will be featured at Sunset River Gallery in Calabash, NC in a one-woman show titled The Shape of Light. The exhibit includes 20 of her original acrylic pieces showcasing her popular abstracted landscapes, female figures, and several ballet motif paintings. The show runs from Friday, Sept. 6 through Saturday, Oct. 12. An opening reception to meet and speak with the artist is set for Friday evening from 5 – 7 p.m.
The French-Canadian born Tomiello says, “Deconstruction of a realistic subject into abstraction is something that inspires me. I want to break down what I see into simple shapes in order to reveal that one thing which brings wonder and excitement to my subject. I currently work with a limited palette of acrylics on multiple paintings at one time. This allows time and distance to find the magic, to play freely between canvases without being too focused on any one result. It’s also been interesting to me how line can impact a painting. It invokes a feeling of ‘unfinished’ and ‘raw,’ thus allowing the viewer to be a part of the painting’s history.”
Gallery director Samantha Spalti adds, “Chantal knows just what to keep and what can fall away from her subjects, leaving the viewer to experience something that is both familiar and brand new. Her work is contemporary but feels equally at home in a traditional setting. It’s ideal for the eclectic homes and workspaces we find in coastal Carolina.”
About Sunset River Gallery
Located in coastal Brunswick County, NC, Sunset River Gallery caters to both area visitors and a growing local community of full-time residents seeking fine art for their homes and businesses. Featuring works by over 100 fine regional artists including Betty Anglin Smith, Marcus McClanahan, Janet Sessoms, and Richard Staat, among others, the gallery is well known in the area for its selection of oil paintings; watermedia; pastels; photography; hand-blown, stained, and fused glass; pottery and clay sculpture; turned and carved wood; unique home décor items; and artisan jewelry.
There are two onsite kilns and five wheels used by the gallery’s pottery students. The gallery also offers ongoing oil/acrylic and watercolor classes as well as workshops by nationally known instructors.
The gallery’s carefully curated selection of investment-grade 20th century fine art is the largest in the Carolinas. Current inventory can be found in the gallery website’s 20th Century Artists section. It includes works by Wolf Kahn (1927-2020), Raimonds Staprans (1926), Angel Botello (1913-1986), Vladimir Cora (1951), Ginny Crouch Stanford (1950), and two bronze sculptures by Milton Hebald (1930 – 2010).
Sunset River Gallery in Calabash, NC announces a new Small Works exhibition opening in June, just in time for the busy summer season, The group show will feature beachscapes,
Afternoon Refresh by Brenda Riggins
wildlife scenes, waterway paintings and more in a range of media – all measuring12 by 12 inches or smaller. Small Works is set to run from Friday, June 14 through Saturday, July 20.
Gallery director Samantha Spalti said, “Our visitors come from near and far to experience all that the gallery offers. Locals count on us for fine art for their homes and businesses. Visitors often seek local work that commemorates their trip here – especially if it travels easily. Sunset River Gallery offers a wonderfully eclectic mix. The Small Works show is ideal for any art lover who wants to take a small piece of the Carolina coast home with them. We invite everyone to come out for the opening reception on Friday, June 14 from 5 – 7 p.m. Enjoy some refreshments and meet the artists.”
Participating artists include Barbara Kohn (oil), Gary Baird (photography), Brenda Riggins (acrylic), Janet Sessoms (oil), Becky Steele (acrylic), Ophelia Staton (acrylic), Roseann Bellinger (acrylic), Clay Johnson (oil), Vicki Neilon (acrylic) Ruth Cox (oil), Kari Feuer (acrylic), Ortrud Tyler (oil), Rich Flanegan (oil), Abby Warman (oil), Rachel Jones (watercolor), Ginny Lassiter (acrylic), Diane White (oil), Debanjana Bhattacharjee (oil), Beryl Kirkpatrick (alcohol ink on tile), Vicki Neilon (acrylic), Judi Moore (acrylic), Linda Karaskevicus (acrylic), Donn McCrary (acrylic), Susan Nern (pastel), Nancy Hughes Miller (oil), Linda Thomas (mixed media), Janet Boschker (oil and cold wax), and Linda Hester (acrylic).
About Sunset River Gallery
Peaceful by Vicki NeilonFalling Ice Cubes by Donn McCrary
Located in coastal Brunswick County, NC, Sunset River Gallery caters to both area visitors and a growing local community of full-time residents seeking fine art for their homes and businesses. Featuring works by over 100 fine regional artists including Betty Anglin Smith, Marcus McClanahan, Janet Sessoms, and Richard Staat, among others, the gallery is well known in the area for its selection of oil paintings; watermedia; pastels; photography; hand-blown, stained, and fused glass; pottery and clay sculpture; turned and carved wood; unique home décor items; and artisan jewelry.
There are two onsite kilns and five wheels used by the gallery’s pottery students. The gallery also offers ongoing oil/acrylic and watercolor classes as well as workshops by nationally known instructors.
The gallery’s carefully curated selection of investment-grade 20th century fine art is the largest in the Carolinas. Current inventory can be found in the gallery website’s 20th Century Artists section. It includes works by Wolf Kahn (1927-2020), Raimonds Staprans (1926), Angell Botello (1913-1986), Vladimir Cora (1951), Hunt Slonam (1951), Ginny Crouch Stanford (1950), and two bronze sculptures by Millton Hebald (1930 – 2010).
Upcoming Events
(Free unless noted)
Memorial Day
Monday, May 29
CLOSED
Form: Sculptural & Functional
Juried 3D show
Through Saturday, June 8
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Coffee With the Authors
Joshua McSwain (“The Misty Effect”)
Thursday, June 13
11 a.m – 12 noon
Pottery Workshop
Instructor Jamie Futera
Friday, June 14
10 a.m. – 1 p.m
$45
Pottery workshop
Instructor Jamie Futera
Friday, June 14
1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
$45
Opening Reception
Small Works Show
Friday, June 14
5 – 7 p.m.
Small Works Show
Friday, June 14 – July 20
11 a.m. – 5 p.m (regular hours)
Paint & Party
Beach Diptych
Wednesday, June 19
5:30 – 7:30
$35
Third Thursday Jazz
AfterHours Band
Thursday, June 20
5 – 7 p.m.
Independence Day
Thursday, July 4
CLOSED
Abstract Workshop
Instructor Ginny Lassiter
Saturday, July 13
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
$95
Summer Art Market
Artists on site, live demos, refreshments, gift certificate drawings
Raleigh, NC-based artist Eric McRay’s much awaited collage show, which is titled Southern Comfort, opens Friday, July 26, 2024 with a public reception from 5 – 7 p.m. The show runs through August 31. Please join us to meet Eric and hear his firsthand inspirations for this insightful exhibition of original collages. According to the artist he uses collage to expose visual storytelling while addressing the human figure as an entity of change in theatrical narratives. These chronicles are inspired by African-American, Biblical references, art history, and pop culture . . . yet, at the core, are McRay’s familial relationships. This continuum searches for personal and universal experiences.
McRay says, “Collage, one of the major innovations of modern art, is an artist inserting pieces of the real world into a constructed one.” He injects impromptu invention in the constructions of his collages, which include such materials as reproductions of his previous works, painted papers, photographic reproductions, snippets of photography, scraps of fabric, elements from magazines, and more. The different materials of everyday existence are edited, sliced, and reassembled into new images on paper, board, or canvas. These constructed worlds pull the viewer into a new reality. Collage empowers McRay to push the boundaries that allow the real world to infiltrate a painting, dissolve the conventions that separate art and life, high art and popular culture.
McRay’s artistic career has been featured on TV and radio programs, and in numerous newspapers, magazines and websites. The Raleigh News & Observer named him one of the “Artists to Watch”. Numerous times he has been listed among the “Best Local Artist” and “Favorite Local Artist”. McRay has received feature articles in Fortune Small Business, Art Business News, Our State Magazine and Southern Living Magazine.
Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Opening reception on July 26 is from 5 – 7 p.m.
Raleigh, NC-based artist Eric McRay’s much awaited collage show, which is titled Southern Comfort, opens Friday, July 26, 2024 with a public reception from 5 – 7 p.m. Please join us to meet Eric and hear his firsthand inspirations for this insightful exhibition of original collages. According to the artist he uses collage to expose visual storytelling while addressing the human figure as an entity of change in theatrical narratives. These chronicles are inspired by African-American, Biblical references, art history, and pop culture . . . yet, at the core, are McRay’s familial relationships. This continuum searches for personal and universal experiences.
McRay says, “Collage, one of the major innovations of modern art, is an artist inserting pieces of the real world into a constructed one.” He injects impromptu invention in the constructions of his collages, which include such materials as reproductions of his previous works, painted papers, photographic reproductions, snippets of photography, scraps of fabric, elements from magazines, and more. The different materials of everyday existence are edited, sliced, and reassembled into new images on paper, board, or canvas. These constructed worlds pull the viewer into a new reality. Collage empowers McRay to push the boundaries that allow the real world to infiltrate a painting, dissolve the conventions that separate art and life, high art and popular culture.
McRay’s artistic career has been featured on TV and radio programs, and in numerous newspapers, magazines and websites. The Raleigh News & Observer named him one of the “Artists to Watch”. Numerous times he has been listed among the “Best Local Artist” and “Favorite Local Artist”. McRay has received feature articles in Fortune Small Business, Art Business News, Our State Magazine and Southern Living Magazine.
Southern Comfort runs through August 31. We hope to see you here! Click here to watch Eric’s interview with the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Opening Friday, Sept. 15 and running through Saturday, Oct. 21 is Frank Campion – Dichotomies. When gallery director Samantha Spalti saw Frank Campion’s work for the first time, her reaction was nothing less than visceral. “It was that powerful,” she says. “In front of me was this stunning abstract painting that had so much movement, such emotion that it took my breath away.”
The show includes works on both canvas and paper. About this show, the artist says, “The dictionary defines “dichotomy” as “a division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups – a dichotomy between thought and action.” It occurs to me that we tend to be naturally judgmental, making the world a binary proposition: good/bad, yes/no, on/off, right/wrong, hot/cold, rough/smooth, etc. So this new work is about dichotomies. One dichotomy involves the collision between the rational and the random. The rational is the simple geometric, intentional composition. The random is the occurrence of accidental painterly incidents. The other dichotomy has to do with the meeting of dominant colors that exist independently, but live adjacent to each other. This creates an emotional atmosphere or mood. as the work progresses.
Campion, who works out of his studio near Winston-Salem, was featured in Liza Roberts’ 2022 book The Art of the State, celebrating artists who are contributing to the North Carolina’s growing reputation in visual arts. He says, “As abstract as it may initially appear, my work is essentially derived from the tradition of landscape painting. the issues of space and atmosphere seem always to be with me as are the more formal issues about what constitutes an authentic painting – proportion, form, color, composition, and surface.”
The opening reception is set for Friday, Sept. 15 from 5 – 7 p.m. This is an ideal opportunity for artists, students and collectors to meet and speak with a leading voice in North Carolina arts.
