Loren DiBenedetto Exhibition
Weeping Pine
The Art Cellar Gallery is celebrating its 30th season as an arts destination in beautiful Banner Elk, North Carolina. With no shortage of creativity in the area, the gallery focuses on regional artists that have roots in the surrounding Appalachian communities. An exciting exhibition lineup has been prepared for this Summer - Loren DiBenedetto will have a solo exhibition on display in the gallery from July 27th through August 6th.
Loren DiBenedetto is a celebrated artist best known for her vibrant still life paintings. From luscious fruits and vegetables and tangled birds nests to picturesque floral arrangements, each of her pieces carries as much stark drama as the next. Realistic still life painting is a way to solidify a moment in time, often conveying a sense of peace as the subjects will never look the same as they do in that exact moment. “Everything evolves and changes, and what attracts me to still life is being able to capture the moment of light in a certain way,” said Loren.
Growing up in a flower shop, Loren DiBenedetto’s creativity was able to flourish from a young age. Her parents were casual painters and she really began to take art seriously in high school. “I struggled sometimes with what I wanted to paint,” she recalls. “But they say paint what you know. That made so much sense to me, so I started painting flowers. That’s when I really knew I could have a career; when I found the passion for what I wanted to paint.”
The undisturbed simplicity of Loren’s compositions allow the subjects to shine through her contrasting use of light and shadow. She will often set up her arrangements outside in early morning or late evening, when the shadows are the most impactful and take photos to study multiple angles. This angle study is apparent in her creation process - Loren paints a series of looser studies to block in color and play with the light before beginning a final studio piece. “Painting with oils gives me the freedom and ability to layer coat upon coat, building up the subject until it pops off of the canvas.”
Recently Loren was awarded the American Art Collector Award of Excellence at the 2021 International Guild of Realism Spring Online Salon, she was also juried into the prestigious American Society of Traditional Artists, and is a member of the Oil Painters of America and the International Guild of Realism.
An open house for Loren DiBenedetto’s exhibition will be held at the Art Cellar on August 6th from 3-5pm.
Written by Lauren Olds