"Truth In Animals," Mixed Media Paintings by Linda Mitchell, Opens July 19

Louis XIV, Linda Mitchell

Piedmont Arts invites viewer’s to enter a dream-like world of animals and mystery, created by the mixed media paintings of artist Linda Mitchell, in the exhibit Truth In Animals, on display at the museum June 20 – Sept. 21, 2013.

Ethereal in its oddness, Mitchell’s highly textured, brilliantly colored two-dimensional work is made with painted and photographic images, fabric, wood, glass and found objects. These works coalesce into intricate and surreal scenes, reflecting life’s emotional complexity, while her  three-dimensional animal figures, made of fabric and Play-Doh, add a delightful whimsy to the viewer's journey.

Throughout her work, Mitchell uses animal figures as surrogates for human beings and their emotional lives. Some of these figures speak directly to the child within and to the vulnerable, delicate places hidden in everyone’s past. Others, particularly African animals, serve as emissaries from the ever-vanishing natural world.

                       

Famed music writer John Mendelsohn has written that, “Mitchell is a prolific artist who delights in a constant flow of creative invention, but throughout her work is a feeling of fleeting beauty, of holding on to yesterday and today, and the recognition of the impermanence of it all....This feeling of embracing what is vulnerable and what is loved and keeping it whole at least for a while is at the heart of her artistic vision.”

Linda Mitchell has exhibited her paintings extensively, including solo exhibitions at: Peninsula Fine Arts, Newport News, VA; Radford University Museum, Radford, VA; Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida; Tinney Contemporary, Nashville, TN; Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA; and Georgia State University.

Harvest Moon, Celia Tucker

Beasties, Tales and Wanderings by Celia Tucker will also be on display in the Lynwood Artists Gallery. Tucker's illustrations and ceramic works express a sense of narrative, based on a blend of observation, self-reflection, imagination and humor. Her pieces are widely varied as to material, but are unified by in an ongoing tale of life and memories.

A Members-Only Reception will be held in conjunction with these exhibits on Friday, July 19 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm in the Piedmont Arts galleries. Piedmont Arts members and guests are invited to attend. Artists Linda Mitchell and Celia Tucker will speak about their work. Light refreshments will be served. Babysitting is available at this event for $5 per child by RSVP only. Please RSVP attendance here by July 15.