Current Illuminations: Paintings by Terry Rodgers

Louis Stern Fine Arts is pleased to present:  Current Illuminations:  Paintings by Terry Rodgers, a solo exhibition of new work.  The exhibition opens with an Artist Reception from 6 to 9 PM March 2 and continues through April 13, 2002.

Working with a painter’s hand, a photographer’s eye and a movie director’s vision, Terry Rodgers creates emotionally charged scenarios on large linen canvasses.  Rodger’s oils portray in almost photo realistic detail intimate social settings.  The cast of characters seem familiar:  a bikini-clad sunbather engrossed in a cellular phone conversation, elegant cocktail party guests with anxious eyes glancing everywhere except at each other and adult family members (or are they?) attempting to savor a morning coffee.  If the scenes seem to describe superficiality or banality, the people seem to radiate complexity.  Each lusciously constructed composition creates a window into the psychological landscapes of privilege.  With a masterful use of light, Rodgers directs virtually life size subjects to engage and confront the viewer’s understanding of the interaction depicted.  Make no mistake, Rodgers beautifully painted observations are probing inquiries into the nature of who we are and the pathology of how we have decided to behave.  The results are deadly serious and heart-stoppingly revealing.

Rodgers maintains a studio in Columbus, Ohio, where he lives most of the year.  His work has been featured in exhibitions at a number of museums across the country including the Erie Art Museum, the Parkersburg Art Center, the Midwest Museum of American Art, Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum, the Ellen Noel Art Museum, Odessa, Texas, and the Center for the Cultural Arts, Gadsden, Alabama.  This exhibition marks Rodgers first solo show with Louis Stern Fine Arts.