Virginia Artists Ed Dolinger and Mark Shepheard Exhibit Work at Piedmont Arts

Two exhibitions featuring work by Virginia artists will open at Piedmont Arts on July 19. Both artists have strong ties to Southern Virginia with studios based in Roanoke.

 

Fighting Physics and Retrospect and Revival feature work by Ed Dolinger and Mark Shepheard, respectively. Working from the Star City, each artist created their exhibition separately, yet their work forms a symbiotic experience through similarities in style and content.

 

"This is a great opportunity to highlight two talented regional artists whose work has been recognized on a national level," said Piedmont Arts Director of Exhibitions Heidi Pinkston. "Though their work has similarities that create a cohesive exhibition, each artist has their own unique perspective that is sure to interest viewers."

 

Ed Dolinger

Ed Dolinger’s work seeks solutions to unsolvable problems—expelling logic from useful and practical images that originally relayed information as solutions or instructions.

 

"I seek to purge sermonizing from content and to reveal the contradictions and competing opposites that are a constant in life," said Dolinger. 

 

Calming chaos through the deconstruction of dense information, the “poetic puzzles” found in Fighting Physics are a reaction to contemporary life, which seems overly complicated and thrives on complexity for the sake of complexity.

 

Dolinger has been a lecturer in art and sculpture at Hollins University. A 2010 recipient of a prestigious fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, he has also participated in numerous exhibitions at national, state and regional venues. 

 

Dolinger's two- and three-dimensional work can be found in public and private collections around the country and as well as in numerous spots around Martinsville-Henry County. In 2008 and 2012, he was commissioned to create multiple three-dimensional works, which can be seen at various points along The Dick and Willie Trail. He also mentored local students from the after-school program, MHC After 3, in creating a mural for Piedmont Arts' public art project, which hangs on outer wall of the Martinsville YMCA.

Mark Shepheard

Featuring both new and past works, Shepheard brought the pieces in Retrospect and Revival together "as a representation of my interest in writing and illustrative bouts."

 

Shepheard's past pieces are from periods of poetic wandering and collaboration with writer Deirdra McAfee of Richmond, Virginia, under whom he studied bookbinding and writing. His newer pieces are inspired by a novel, which he is soon to complete.

 

Working as an interpretation of a story in three dimensions, Shepheard's pieces often incorporate painting and drawing with his love of creative writing, creating an experience rich with meaning. 

Shepheard attended Virginia Commonwealth University where he received a BFA in metalwork. For the past three years he has studied with instructors at The Studio School in Roanoke, where he has learned new ways to express himself through drawing and painting.

 

In addition to the above exhibits, Dancing with Color, featuring work by Martinsville artist Audrey Caywood, will be on display in the Lynwood Artists Gallery.

 

Fighting Physics, Retrospect and Revival and Dancing with Color will be on display at Piedmont Arts from July 19 through August 30, 2014. As always, Piedmont Arts exhibits are admission free through the membership support of people like you. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday from 10 am – 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am – 3 pm.

 

A Members-Only Reception will be held in honor of these exhibits on Friday, July 18 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at Piedmont Arts. Piedmont Arts members, prospective members and guests are invited to attend this admission free reception sponsored by Martha S. Cooper, CPA, Piedmont Writers Group, Southwest Virginia Ballet, Barbara and Guy Stanley, Ellen Wood, Lynwood Artists and Piedmont Arts. Complimentary wine and refreshments will be served. RSVP at 276.632.3221 or here.