FLUID FORMS

Original Exhibit Dates: February 17 to March 7, 2009

Our third exhibit featured three artists who look to the sea for inspiration.

Jill Brougher’s charcoal drawings of shells, Hollis Jeffcoat’s variations on seascapes, and Elodie Holmes’ liquid-light glass sculptures gave this beautiful exhibit the tranquil serenity that always flows from masterly-crafted work.

Jill Brougher has elevated the drawing of seashells to high art by using the Florentine Academy approach of fine marks on toned paper. The size, composition and formality of the 10 works featured in this exhibit went beyond charcoal drawings and presented us with portraits of her beloved Sanibel subjects. Brougher’s placement of one shell within another creates a tableau that is both simple and powerful, and the sensitivity of her touch, her clear handling of charcoal, and the impossibly smooth surface creates work that is both beautiful and captivating.

Hollis Jeffcoat, known as an extraordinary colorist, exemplified her versatility and mastery in the small works she created in 2008 following her move from New York to Sanibel. Featured in this exhibit were two “Seatucks” that glimmer and glow from subtle layering, and pieces from the Lake series, which are more geometric and use bolder color. The Lake series seems flat at first, but upon longer viewing, each piece begins to move and create great space in a small format, exemplifying Hans Hoffman’s concept of “push/pull.” In her Blind Pass series, Jeffcoat used a method of fixing pastels that she discovered which enables her to maintain the trueness of the color and exquisitely capture the subtle light of Sanibel.

Elodie Holmes, the fourth member of her family to blow glass, hand-sculpts her unique pieces using traditional glassblowing methods to create modern sculptures that double as functional vessels. Four of Holmes' sculptures from her Aurora series were featured in this exhibit, each with a different palette and organic shape that is fascinating from every angle. Holmes’ use of color is both clear and complex, creating beautiful patterns in her sculptures that remind us of the sea. The thinness of her glass, the graceful forms, and breathtaking color are evidence of her mastery.