RAPID CITY, SD (Sept. 27, 2017) –
The Apex Gallery at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology features
the work of Jan Hall, aka. Jan DeVore in a new exhibit open to public from now
until Oct. 27, 2017. The gallery will host an opening reception and informal
gathering from 5-7 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 29.
DeVore’s title, “Painting in the Dark” was realized too late
for the official exhibition title. This show was originally called, “Paintings
Past and Present.” But, this one small change is a revelation which
explains much about this artist. Her primary concern is to paint. Analyzing her
own work, and assigning a title, or explaining her process is all secondary.
The inherent beauty and rich textures of her work are
evident, even when viewed digitally on a small computer screen. In real
life, these paintings are large and expansive, exquisitely rich with layering,
texture and subtle color.
Black Hills artist, Tom Thorson has this to say about
DeVore’s work, “I’ve seen a couple of paintings through their progress, she
layers and layers and layers her paint to get to her finished surface and
color. One painting had the most gorgeous Pierre Bonnard palette that I
couldn’t stop ogling,” says Thorson. “The next time it was unrecognizable as
the same painting. It had become mostly grays. Jan insisted she needs that
specific under-painting to get what she had in her final painting. The
rest is, I suppose, self-evident in that it’s about surface, and the play
between the absolute flat and the teasing tension toward illusionary
space.”
The Apex Gallery
is open to the public on the campus of SD Mines. The gallery features a
new exhibition every four to six weeks.