Locks Gallery is pleased to present … To Make a Live Painting, an exhibition of paintings by Warren Rohrer, on view October 1 through November 13, 2010. There will be a reception on Friday, October 1, from 5:30-7:30 pm. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog, including several examples of the artist’s writing and sketches.
… To Make a Live Painting will feature work dating from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s - many of which have not been exhibited for more than twenty-five years. Rohrer’s history (a descendant of 18th century Mennonite farmers) and relationship with the Pennsylvania landscape served as a continual source of inspiration. Paintings such as White Wheat and Orchard are defined by layers of illuminated color and precisely articulated surfaces. His application of incremental brushstrokes in orderly rows creates an illusion of grand scale independent of the size of each canvas. In 1976, the artist wrote, “My subject is the STROKE. A color event sets me off. From the ground of the canvas to the final layer of paint I work at maintaining a life of stroke and color … to make a live painting.”
In addition to the paintings, the artist’s sketches showing his exacting method for what became atmospheric creations will be on display.
Warren Rohrer taught for 25 years at the Philadelphia College of Art. The subject of a retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2003, Rohrer's work is represented in many museum collections, including: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; The Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, both in Philadelphia, PA; Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA; and the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE. Locks Gallery has represented the artist since 1974.
