Vermont from Oxford, 24 x 24 inches, oil on canvas.

The recent paintings by Terry McKelvey on display at the Crary Art Gallery show a surprising diversity of views possible from one studio. McKelvey’s rich, sophisticated use of paint, color and form render his studio a place of many visual intrigues - from views through windows to views of the artist through overlapping mirrors, and from paintings of paintings hung on the walls, to a lonely electric heater and a plastic gorilla in a jumbled still life.

McKelvey’s artistic focus oscillates between larger-scale narrative tableaux, in which he often appears as a stock character, and smaller-scale paintings based directly on his observed nearby surroundings. While these two bodies of work have distinct motifs, they share a common bond in the formal elements and processes that motivate him: using the physical properties of paint to explore the essence of light, interaction of color, and the manipulation of pictorial space.

Terry McKelvey has a BFA in Painting from the Portland School of Art and an MFA in Painting from Cornell University. He is an Associate Professor of Art at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where he has taught painting, drawing, and foundations for the past twelve years. He has also taught at Purdue University, University of Maine, and Maine College of Art.

Please join us and the artist in celebrating the opening of the exhibition.
Public reception: Friday, March 5, 6-8pm