A new two-artist exhibit, Spirit, is set to open at the Chadds Ford Gallery. While the two artists, Marie Kirkwood and Pam Julian-Smyers, are not household names, their teacher’s name is. That teacher is Chadds Ford’s Karl Kuerner.
“I have found of all the years I have worked with people that have talent...there are few that really see it through. I keep remembering what Carolyn Wyeth and her brother said to me, ‘Paint what you know and your soul will come out and people respond.’ These two women, Marie Kirkwood and Pamela Smyers are doing just that. Their uniqueness and love for what they do speaks volumes," Kuerner said of his students.
One of the things he tries to get across to his students, Kuerner said, is that “It’s nice to do the pretty pictures, but they’ll only take you so far. But if you really delve into what really means somethong to you, it’ll make an impact.”
He added that their dedication to their art is showing through.
“It’s great they’re showing together, but it will be really interesting when they go their separate ways,” Kuerner said.
Kirkwood has been studying with Kuerner for 15 years, she said, and Smyers has been with him for 10.
Kirkwood said her approach is to tell a story with her work, based on a surreal feeling that she gets when she sees an image.
“I experience the world outside and I instantly get a feeling. The image grabs me. I see an image that grabs me and I have to get it on film or get it on a sketchbook. When I get home, it starts to develop from there,” she said.
It’s the mood of the scene that grabs her, she added.
Smyers describes her work as realism and impressionism combined.
“I really try to paint my emotions. So, I might have an idea that I want this subject, but I paint what I’m feeling at that time, whether it’s strength or if I’m feeling fragile. That what I try to do,” Smyers said.
She added that she thinks she picks the subject according to what she’s feeling at that given moment.
“It’s coming from me, what I’m experiencing in my life,” Smyers said.
Smyers works primarily with acrylic, while Kirkwood ranges from acrylic to oil, watercolor and tempera.
As for the future, Kirkwood said she wants her art to support her spiritual practice, to help her reach a point of clarity and to know herself.
“I think my art helps me do that,” Kirkwood said.
Smyers said she simply wants to evolve as an artist with technique, color, to become the best that she can be and “to stir people’s emotions.”
“I want people to see one of my paintings and be moved by it,” Smyers said. “When I look at the masters, I look in awe and it moves me. Then I want to know the story behind it. What was that artist trying to say? I hope I can do that for someone.”
Spirit open Saturday, Sept. 13 from 3 to 8 p.m. and runs through Sunday, Sept. 28.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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