Rich Klein

 

I am very interested in perception and how we humans assemble the mental construct we call ‘reality’ in our minds. Everything we perceive only comes to us through our five senses. Our senses have limitations. We fool ourselves thinking that what we perceive and think is the truth and reflects reality. Are we truly separate and distinct entities divorced from the universe? In this series of self portraits I am seeking to explore the nature of ‘self’.

What is Self? Does it exist?

All of these paintings arise from my subconscious (90% of your neural activity is not perceived by you – that is your subconscious). Some of the paintings I know what they mean before they emerge (hence the descriptive titles). Others I have no idea what they mean other than it was something my subconscious wants/needs to say. I hope these stir you to think about yourself and your place.I am an intuitive painter, and I follow only those rules that serve the expression I seek.

Debi Alderman

 

Aiken resident Debi Alderman holds a BFA Degree from Ohio University. During her years in college she worked, exhibited and sold art to help pay for her college tuition. Although she used her second degree in Mechanical Engineering to earn a living, she has found time in retirement to review her art skills and enjoys creating art from views of nature. She works in Pen and Ink, Graphite Pencil, Watercolor, and Acrylic.

After graduation from Ohio University she volunteered with Special Olympics starting an Art program for the state of West Virginia. She received a commendation award from Eunice Kennedy Shriver for that work and obtaining grants for the ongoing program which gave participants a creative outlet.

 

Debi is honored to be able to exhibit at the Aiken Center for the Arts, and be a member of both the ACA and Aiken Artists Guild. She participates in the wonderful Art Center Classes and Events whenever possible.

Gary Tabke

 

After a lifetime of careers defined by structure, rules, and the law—as a police officer, private investigator, college football coach, businessman, and world traveler—Gary discovered something completely different in front of a blank canvas. Painting allowed him to leave those boundaries behind. The process became instinctive, loose, unrestrained, and endlessly stimulating.

His work is inspired by motion, bold color, and layered texture. Each painting develops organically, revealing itself one movement at a time. No formulas. No destination. Just the freedom to create something that has existed only in his imagination.

Today, Gary calls Aiken, South Carolina, home. He traded the fast lane of the West Coast for a quieter life growing produce, tending chickens, and embracing his newest title, The Abstract Farmer.

If his paintings invite you to pause, wonder, or simply feel something unexpected, then they’ve done exactly what they were meant to do.

For me, abstract art is the only form of visual art that has never existed prior to taking form in the artist’s mind. It isn’t a replication of something that already exists. It’s not an interpretation of an actual person place or thing. It’s an original idea, given life through color, movement, texture and pure imagination.