Jan 27th, 2011

New Exhibit at Lanesboro Arts Center: ‘Luminaries: Figures, Birds, Spheres’ Mixed Media Sculpture by Patty Carmody Smith: February 4 – April 3, 2011.

Opening Reception Friday, Feb. 4, 6-8 p.m.

‘Luminaries: Figures, Birds, Spheres’ will feature new mixed media sculpture by Patty Carmody Smith at the Lanesboro Arts Center in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Free to the public, the exhibit will open with an artist reception on Friday, February 4 from 6-8 p.m., with refreshments and live music by John Black. The exhibit will run through April 3, 2011.

Tempered glass mosaic, paper maché, styrofoam, paint, string, and clay. Minnetonka artist Patty Carmody Smith uses all this material to create her wonderfully luminescent sculptures: specifically ‘Figures, Birds, and Spheres.’ With titles including ‘Ibis in Tights’, ‘Sun Kissed Raven’ and ‘Animal, Vegetable, Mineral’, Patty’s work is colorful and richly textured, at times peaceful and at times whimsical. Starting in fiber arts thirty-some years ago, the artist’s work gradually transformed into mixed media about seven years ago when she found herself wanting to paint and sculpt her own forms. Surface design became very important in her new work, as well as light, which for her symbolizes everything that is good and beautiful (the tempered glass mosaics capture and reflect light). She started sculpting birds after a trip to Yellowstone a year and a half ago, noticing the ravens there. She sees birds as a symbolic bridge between human and spirit. Patty’s ‘ravens’ take on their own personality as she transforms each one with layers of paint. Her ‘Spheres’ are actually half-spheres, mounted on the wall in groupings, with colorful glass mosaics softly dancing in the light. The figurative work, like one of her pieces entitled ‘Presence’, exudes a peaceful presence; the eyes are always closed, looking inward. “To me, figurative work is where we’re all connected. Some sculptures are emotional and some are sort of above emotion,” Patty says.

Patty Carmody Smith has exhibited her work widely in Minnesota, at the Minnesota State Fair (St. Paul), St. John’s University (Collegeville), Buffalo Fish Fine Art (Willmar), The Good Life (Wayzata), Frank Stone Gallery (Minneapolis), Textile Center of Minnesota, and the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin. She holds a degree in fiber arts from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The exhibit is supported by the Minnesota State Arts Board. Current hours at the Lanesboro Arts Center galleries are Tues-Sat 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The gallery is located at 103 Parkway Ave N. in Lanesboro, Minnesota.

Providing year-round arts programming for more than thirty years, Lanesboro Arts Center’s mission is to serve as a regional catalyst for artistic excellence and educational development in providing diverse art experiences for people of all ages. For more information contact 507-467-2446 or visit their website.