Monumental Intimacy: A Drawing Survey
Exhibition dates: September 5 - October 7, 2022, S. Tucker Cooke Gallery, Owen Hall, UNC Asheville
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 8th from 6 - 8 pm
Artist lecture and Gallery Viewing: September 15th at 6 pm
Roma and Rita, charcoal on paper
Sophia, charcoal on paper
Molly Guigas, charcoal on paper
Soul Cage, iPad drawing
Angela and Liam,, charcoal on paper
Artist Statement
My work, more than anything else, is a way for me to explore and make sense of my world through visual means. These means include realistic and abstract imagery, and disciplines such as drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture, digital imagery, and theatre work.
My realistic work mainly manifests itself with my drawings, which are primarily monumental and executed in charcoal. I am constantly looking for things that strike me visually such as the figure, faces, and studies of Nature.
Of all of my subjects I find the figure to be the most powerful vehicle to express my ideas and feelings. I tend to draw family or friends and either focus on the old or the new born. My drawings of people strive to depict the soul of the person and speak of the cycle of life of which we are all a part. My drawings of Nature (landscape, insects, and animals) tend to be objective studies that share with the viewer my fascination with texture and detail. I like to work large for the impact and often use my drawings as theater sets. A design I created of Waiting For Godot was composed of my drawings which stretched fifty feet across the stage.
My abstract work manifests itself primarily in etchings, assemblages and monumental paintings. This body of work is based mainly on maps and my love of scientific subject matter. My most recent body of work consists of
very large canvases with highly structured circular patterns painted in acrylic paint. I am trying to convey what I see in my mind when I read about the big bang, black holes, atomic structures, snow flake patterns and so on. I am also
referring to Islamic Art, Indian Art, and Mandalas. I have chosen to work in several directions for a couple of reasons. First of all, I like to challenge myself artistically. Each drawing or painting I do is done partly for the difficulty it presents me. If I succeed, I am that much stronger of an artist. Secondly, I see the world in a way that can best be described in two major areas: realistically and structured abstractions. I was made to do both.
Biography
Gerry Wubben is a multifaceted artist who specializes in monumental charcoal drawings. He is currently based in Greenville, South Carolina where he maintains a vigorous studio practice.
His art career started with an interest in printmaking which led him to pursue a BFA at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado in 1982 and an MFA at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in 1985. From 1987 to 2016 he was a decorated Professor of Art who taught all levels of drawing and printmaking at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In 2017, he chose to relocate to Greenville, South Carolina to exclusively pursue his art practice as well as continue as an art educator as an Adjunct Professor of Art at Furman University.
He has received numerous awards and grants and has shown in more than 300 group exhibitions as well as 30 solo exhibitions across the United States. He is included in numerous private and public collections. His monumental drawings are defined by a powerful realism and technical excellence. His subject matter is family, friends, Nature, and theater through the lens of a profound awareness of the passage of time.
To see more of Gerry's work, please visit @gerrywubben on Instagram