Exhibit "Image as Metaphor" Paintings by Bertil Whyman on Display January 19-March 19 in SSU's Atrium Gallery
SALISBURY, MD--"Image as Metaphor," an exhibit of paintings by Whitehaven artist Bertil Whyman, is on display in the Salisbury State University Atrium Gallery January 19-March 19. A reception will be held Friday, January 22, from 4-7 p.m. Admission is free and the public is cordially invited.
In his art Whyman attempts "to rediscover who we are by portraying images of where we have been." The old houses, boats, books and family photos that fill his paintings represent the care and quality that went into hand crafted items of years ago.
"You don't see character in new houses, boats and cars," he said. "Things are plasticized, stamped out and molded quickly."
"Like Winslow Homer, Whyman is self-taught," said director of the University Galleries Ken Basile. "Whyman's work is very much part of an American tradition, a tradition established in the 19th century."
His pictures are more than a graphic nostalgia, however. Technically, his recent paintings have moved toward impressionism, with an emphasis on color and light. Whyman, who is 58, became a full-time artist in 1983 while living in a log cabin in Vermont. Like Homer and Thomas Eakins, he has a fascination with the water and boats. He and his wife, Amelia ("my greatest source of inspiration"), spent summers painting and sailing off the coast Maine. Such New England-inspired scenes, as well as images of his current home in Whitehaven, are part of "Image as Metaphor." His preferred media are acrylics and water color.
Inspired by Vermeer, Manet, Homer and Sargent, Whyman is a dedicated artist whose paintings have been exhibited at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, the Finer Side and other galleries throughout Maryland, Maine and Vermont. His work is in prominent collections around the country.
Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, noon-4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information call the University Galleries at 410-543-6271.