New City Arts presents Charcoal and Steel, an exhibition of paintings and sculpture by Charlottesville artists Cate West Zahl and Nick Watson.
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
First Fridays
March 3, 5:00–7:30 PM
Free and open to the public. All ages welcome.
Gallery Hours
12:00-4:00 PM, Monday–Friday
Brown Bag Lunch with the Artists
Monday, March 20, at 12:00 PM
Sponsors
Welcome Gallery Exhibit Opening Receptions are presented by Northwestern Mutual and sponsored by Wegmans and Veritas Vineyard & Winery. December 2016-June 2017 exhibits at Welcome Gallery are made possible by an Enriching Communities grant from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
Exhibition Statement (provided by the artists)
The works in this show explore linear composition through labored, physical methods.
Cate West Zahl’s paintings are mostly monochromatic, made on wood panels with charcoal and gouache; the limited palette purposefully forced a concentration on the drawing. The tension between straight, architectonic lines that intersect with gestural, aggressive strokes is intentional and meant to expose the taxing process of decision making that went into painting each piece.
Nick Watson’s sculptures utilize the raw and elemental materials of earth and industry, and are created with an emphasis on line, tension, and balance. His pieces aim to inhabit and create spaces, from intimate to enigmatic.
Zahl’s paintings and Watson’s sculptures share the similar accomplishment of creating elegant, curvilinear shapes and lines through the manipulation of primitive materials.
About the Artist (provided by the artists)
Cate West Zahl is a painter working in Charlottesville, Viriginia, where she lives with her husband and three sons. She first studied studio art under Lee Newman at the Holton-Arms school, and then went on to earn her BA in Fine Arts from Hamilton College. Her academic training was based in the technical study of life, a strong foundation from which she could explore more explicit abstraction. This occurs out of her loft studio in the Belmont neighborhood of downtown Charlottesville.
Nick Watson is a sculptor currently working in Charlottesville, Virginia. Born and raised in New York, he grew up working with his father at The Nancy Hoffman Gallery and with his mother in her painting studio at home. This early exposure to art laid the foundation for his art making today. After completing his bachelor's degree in Studio Art at the University of Virginia, he was awarded their Fifth Year Aunspaugh Fellowship, which he completed in 2016. His work is currently being carried by Les Yeux du Monde, in Charlottesville, Va.
Image courtesy of the artists:
Cate West Zahl Marks, Labor, Overworked, Pt. 2, 2017. Charcoal and gauche on birch wood panel, 48” x 60.”
Nick Watson Veer, 2016. Steel, stainless steel and copper; 50” x 48 x 20.”
