Oscar Gillespie exhibition opens July 18 at RAL Homestead
This year, the Rehoboth Art League’s historic Homestead has housed some unique exhibitions. The 1743 home will showcase another fine show, Flying In and Out of Margins: Prints and Drawings by Oscar Gillespie.
Gillespie says, “Over a period of nearly 40 years, I have collected fragments of imagery. Some are drawn in the pages of my sketchbooks, others are held in clippings and scraps from unfinished works. And, now there are even some intrinsic bits and collected pieces of things that I have deposited in digital files. Each of these fragments contains clues to feelings, ideas and moments in time. They are like bits of marginalia written on the pages of life. Many are so familiar to me that I can retrieve them in my mind’s eye, and this often occurs spontaneously while creating."
"Marginalia is a general term for notes, scribbles, doodles and editorial comments made in the margin of a book. I have a long-standing fascination with such notes and illustrations in the margins of manuscripts, musical scores, drafts of prose and poetry, and works of art. Genius and human limitation may be found in these margins, sometimes in coexistence. The appeal is such that it has become central to my current imagination where my work is concerned," says Gillespie.
He adds, "When viewing my work, I would hope that there is a sense that I have been working on the edges of my consciousness, finding things that exist in secret and silence until I allow them to be expressed. The image fragments I have collected over time have been viewed again and again to the point of being imprinted on my unconscious. Within the process of making pictures I allow clues, hints, memories, and recognitions to bubble to the surface, combining lines and shapes and imagery into a new context, a new objet d’arte.”
Flying In and Out of Margins, along with the 76th Members Fine Art Exhibition, will be at the Rehoboth Art League from July 18 through Aug. 24. The opening from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, July 18, is free and open to the public.
The Rehoboth Art League is a membership-based nonprofit arts organization dedicated to teaching, preserving and inspiring the arts in the region. For more information on the art league, its classes, events and exhibitions, visit rehobothartleague.org or call 302-227-8408. Socialize with RAL on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
These programs are made possible, in part, by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
