Speakeasy Art Gallery presents Betty McGeehan: Fragments

BOONTON, N.J. - April 27, 2014 - PRLog -- Speakeasy Art Gallery is proud to feature the work of Betty McGeehan for the month of May. Please join us for her opening reception, taking place on Friday, May 2nd from 6-9pm, which will kick off the Weekend of Art in Boonton. The exhibit will be part of a juried Art Walk with over twenty locations on Main Street showcasing the work of artists represented by The Galleries of Boonton.

On Saturday, May 3rd, Speakeasy Art Gallery will hold an interactive printmaking demonstration for adults and teens, as well as one for children on Sunday. Children's book illustrator, Mike Moran, will also be present on Sunday, May 4th from 11-2pm signing copies of his books "Poopendous" and "Iggy Loomus". There are several exciting events taking place at all of the galleries on Main Street throughout the weekend.

Betty McGeehan is a self-taught artist whose career spans 40 years. It includes stone carving, bronze casting, aluminum, bronze fabrication and found objects. In response to corporate collectors, she traveled to Italy to execute marble commissions, and has worked with Johnson Atelier and Tallix foundries to produce sculptures for public installation. McGeehan’s early work was cerebral and pure, and less about mystery and heart. Since 1993, the work evolved into found object assemblage using antique elements.They are gentle meditations of loss and reconciliation, connections between generations and reverberations of past lives. Her attention to detail and understanding of fine craftsmanship allow for a marriage of materials that seem utterly seamless and natural. They are provocative juxtapositions of images and subjects. The themes have expanded to explore the pressures, challenges and choices facing women, and an exploration of individual identity. McGeehan has also done a series, using bent wood and bamboo, concerning deforestation. McGeehan is now breaking free from subject matter that informed her earlier sculpture. Using wood, the intersecting color and bold lines of this new work speak to the organic energy latent in all forms, regardless of time and space.

McGeehan's current body of work delves deeper into the interplay between color and shape. Using fragments of wood, she composes lively abstractions reminiscent of architecture, landscapes, and nature reduced to essentials. Each piece is approached with a spirit of spontaneity and curiosity without preconceived notions of color or composition. The physicality of the material is her guide.

http://youtu.be/uTpMzSpLATE