"The Whimsy of Childhood" -- Review of Mary Gallagher Stout's Exhibit at West Shore Gallery

Aug. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- At first blush, Mary Gallagher Stout's bright expressionistic paintings stun the imagination with vivid colors, testing the boundaries of the palette. The subjects of her recent works capture the whimsy of childhood, especially that of a little girl in suburban Pennsylvania in the 1980's. The large three-panel  offering "Good Friday Triptych" appears to be a child's dining room daydream in the midst of a favorite tune, which flows throughout the three pieces. The gnomish younger brother and parents are transfixed as fish are 'flopped' onto the table. All of the subjects in the panels appear stunned or in a stupor. It is both comical and a bit disturbing – the viewer wants the participants to be talking to one another, but they are not. They appear drugged – and the fish are not ready to eat! Not even as sushi!

"Tense" captures the shyness of a pre-teen blue-eyed red-headed girl, hands in pockets, gazing back at the viewer as if she was caught doing something she shouldn't have been. Perhaps she was singing a song to herself and suddenly discovered she was being watched by a stranger.

The portrait of Mary's mother, entitled "Feeding Time", is the darkest piece in the exhibition. It depicts an obviously disturbed individual lost in self-consuming thoughts. Her face betrays an unhealthy pallor. The eyes are intense and dark, perhaps following hours of crying. But yet, the bundle so closely held against her chest helps her break through her intensity and yields the beginning of a smile, or perhaps it is just a smirk.

"Town Meeting" (aka "The Spitter") depicts three little girls, perhaps at a dance or pageant or schoolyard. The blue girl appears to be laughing or taunting. The red girl has just been victimized by spit, plastered on her forehead and left cheek. She is clearly stunned. The green girl is the perpetrator. Her back is to the viewer. The energy present in this picture is striking, capturing the intensity of the bullying, and the shock of the victim.

"Avalon" and "Pass the Buck Boy" capture with vivid colors childhood memories of trips to the beach with a good friend and the cherished family dog. Both works have a 'celestial' quality to them, like starry dreams of the past. The dog's eyes glow. You have the feeling the dog is a ghost returned in a dream.

Many other works deserve mention, but with limited space, it is just not possible to do them justice. Clearly Ms. Stout is a very talented artist with a distinct style which conveys emotion, movement and longing for the simpler times of one's youth.

Lawrence von Knorr
August, 2010


Mary Gallagher Stout's exhibit is currently showing at the West Shore Gallery in Wormleysburg, PA through the end of September. Prices range from very affordable to several thousand dollars.

Mary Gallagher Stout currently lives in Stafford, VA and has her studio at the Lorton Workhouse Art Center, in Lorton, VA. She is also known for her instructional videos at monkeysee.com and for her recent book entitled "REAL Life Drawing: My Eye on Washington, DC" published by Sunbury Press featuring her plein air work of famous Washington, DC sites and the people around them.

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West Shore Gallery, Inc., located in Wormleysburg, PA, is a fine art gallery and photography studio. The gallery carries original art work in all media. The photography studio specializes in wedding, portrait and commercial photography.