Margaret Salisbury & Pam Brewer Exhibition
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 - Margaret Salibury and Pam Brewer will have an exhibition on display in the gallery from August 17th through September 3rd.
The stunning pairing of Margaret Salisbury and Pam Brewer for the exhibition arose from their shared inspiration from nature and use of earth tones. Their works are impactful individually and harmonious when coupled.
Margaret splits her time between Charlotte and Banner Elk and is drawn to the Blue Ridge Mountain scenery and the animals that roam them as subjects. She regularly hikes the Parkway where she paints en plein air. “I celebrate the ordinary by creating a painting from a place or moment in time that made me stop in my tracks and think, "WOW, that's beautiful!”,” she says. Although she graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Art History, becoming an artist was never her intention. It wasn’t until becoming a mother that she realized her need for a creative outlet. She developed an impressionistic style that is truly her own after studying with several local legends in the plein air community. Her connection to the natural landscape is apparent with her chosen warm, rich palette. She eloquently captures the beauty through a textured application.
Pam Brewer graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta with a degree in Interior Design. She worked in general contracting for several years, before transitioning to the Blue Ridge Mountains to explore life as a studio artist in 1993. Her studio journey began with mosaics as she experimented with clay forms to apply the tiles to. She chose the oldest, most rudimentary materials and processes which further connect her forms with nature. After coiling and pinching earthenware into primal animalistic forms she seals the clay with terra sigillata, literally translating to “seal of the earth.” “It is great to know that my interests are ancient and very few things in my life contrived, but purely organic – much like our dear Mother Earth,” Pam said.
Most recently, Pam Brewer has evolved her practice to include bronze. Her signature animal forms are cast in a bronze shell and some are patinated.
An Open House for the Margaret Salisbury and Pam Brewer exhibition will be held on Saturday, August 27th from 3-5pm.