In Providence this month:
This May the Gallery at Sprout Providence (166 Valley St) is presenting Kate Wilson Fine Art: The Finger Painting Series, an exhibition of natural landscape works. The exhibition will be open to the public and on display May 5th through May 31st. Visit Sprout Providence to view the work in-person M-F 9am-12pm, or by appointment. The next Gallery Night Providence event touring Sprout will be May 20th from 4-7pm. Tune in for a closer look at Kate Wilson’s artwork during Virtual Gallery Night, live on Facebook, or join us in person for an Olneyville walking tour on the Third Thursday of the Month.
About Kate Wilson:
Kate Wilson is a vibrant interdisciplinary artist associated with several major artistic styles. She views herself as a scientific artist, exploring techniques: opaque fields of color, translucent washes that mix optically, shifts in tonal values, bold hues, and graphic elements. Kate uses unconventional paint applications to create, including just her fingers!
“By putting aside my brushes and working only with my hands, I can manipulate the oil paint in a myriad of ways with complete control that allows me complete freedom of expression.”
-Kate Wilson
Kate’s paintings offer majesty and timelessness. She believes that art can heal and bridge someone to themselves, a place in all of us that we have yet to comprehend yet fully can sense.
In addition to this body of work, Kate creates in a wide range of formats, including photographic designs on aluminum panels, unconventional sculpture, and illuminated ink panels.
Studio 711A, Hope Artiste Village, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
You can learn more about Kate Wilson’s artwork in a virtual studio visit on Sprout CoWorking’s Facebook and on her website at https://katewilsonfineart.com/.
In Warren this month:
This May the Gallery at Sprout Warren (489 Main St) is presenting Michael “Ike” Dodge: Abstractions, an exhibition of 3D-printed and digitally produced art (printed on acrylic and aluminum). Ike is a teacher at Highlander Charter School and a selection of his students’ work will also be on display. The exhibition will be open to the public and on display through May 31st. Visit Sprout Warren to view the work in-person Wed & Thurs 10-6, Fri & Sat 10 -7, Sun 10-3 or by appointment. Sprout will also be open during Art Night Bristol Warren on May 27th from 5:30 – 8:30pm; come meet Ike in person to learn more about his unique process!
About Michael Dodge:
Michael “Ike” Dodge is a local artist and teacher at Highlander Charter School in Warren. He has taught at Highlander for 9 years and has taught grades K-12.
Graduating from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a B.F.A in illustration, Ike has always been attracted working digitally. He began working in Photoshop in college, enjoying the precision, and ability to easily undo mistakes that working digitally allowed him to do.
In 2010, Ike began exploring the use of his iPhone as a tool for photography but also as a tool to create visually abstract works of art. However, Ike never really cared for abstract work because much of the time it was a form of work that others would just explain away saying, “I don’t get it.” However, it became more about the process rather than the outcome for Ike’s work.
Ike attempted to show his work in a gallery in North Carolina but they claimed they would not display digitally made work. They wanted artwork that wasn’t easy to reproduce. So Ike went online and started posting his work on Instagram (@ike_dodge) doing commissioned portraits and works for himself. He continued looking for the solution that was going to take his art in a different direction.
It wasn’t until last year that Ike got into 3D printing. He got them to work on creating miniatures for Dungeons and Dragons as well as creating terrain for his games. However, right when he started printing to play games with his friends, the pandemic struck. Not having a real need to print terrain for games that couldn’t happen in person, the printers sat around for a few months. Then Ike started printing lithophanes (3D printed photographs) for his friends. That’s when it dawned on him! He would print some of his abstract work, paint it, creating works of art that couldn’t easily be reproduced.
So, Ike printed out his work, used a paint called, “Black 3.0,” and the “Mirrorist Mirror paint,” and the “Pinkest Pink paint.” These paints can’t be represented accurately online. So even if you take a photo of the artwork, it still won’t show you accurately what you see in person.
Before you, in this gallery, is a combination of Ike’s digital works printed on metal and 3D printed and painted. The hope is that you find something interesting amongst the pieces and that you understand that it’s not always about the final work but the process and statements art makes.
Sprout is in accordance with the Reopening RI guidelines and is protected by Ocean State Shields. Face masks are required for visitors in our galleries. Contact:[email protected] for more information.