Hyeseung Marriage-Song, “Girl Under the Apple Tree,” oil on linen on board, 12 x 10 inches, 2020.
AN EAST WING ONLINE EXHIBITION FEATURING HYESEUNG MARRIAGE-SONG, LISA LEBOFSKY, BROOKS FREDERICK, PATRICIA WATWOOD, CHRIS EASTLAND AND KRISTIN KUNC
November 23rd — December 23rd, 2020
Ever since stressed-out 19th century Parisian artists decamped to the countryside to escape the incessant demands and soul-sucking competition of their careers, painters have banded together and sought camaraderie in the refuge of nature. In hindsight, we have come to identify those regenerative forays into the wild not so much as pauses but pivots giving rise to stylistic invention. Perhaps we can attribute these advances to the temporary abandonment of individuate striving combined with a willingness to experiment “off-stage” in the company of supportive comrades.
Circa 2007 and in a similar existential crisis, painter and NYAE artist member Patricia Watwood and her husband Duncan Watwood cleared out their savings account and staked out a patch of paradise in the rolling foothills of Pennsylvania. Christened “Three Meadows”, the property is a former working farm long gone to seed. During the first week of August over the past five summers, the Watwoods have invited a group of artists from their inner circle to pitch tents, tend the campfire and paint and draw from the languid nudes Patricia artfully poses amongst the trees, streams, glacier boulders and tall grasses of a reclaimed Eden. These late summer sessions are affectionally referred as “Pennsylvania Paint Outs” by the participants.
COVID kept the 2020 group small and serendipitously intimate --is one traces prior academic affiliations and artistic mentors. In addition to Patricia Watwood, the invited artists included Chris Eastland, Kristin Kunc, Brooks Frederick , Lisa Lebofsky, Hyeseung Marriage-Song, and Michael Gormley. Though allowing for the divergences noted above, the group present had all been attracted to and influenced by traditional studio practices with an emphasis on direct observation, representational drawing and narrative intent.
Interested in reading more about the exhibiting artists and insights about the formation of this special online exhibition? Click the button below to read the essay by executive director of NYAE, Michael Gormley, titled Memories of Summer. Throughout this article, each artist expresses their unique perspective on the significance of these “Pennsylvania Paint Outs” (especially during the time of Covid,) as well as how the practice of Plein Air painting plays into their own creative process.