"I Live in Orlando But Sometimes I Dream of Other Places" Gallery at Avalon Island

"I Live in Orlando But Sometimes I Dream of Other Places" 

Gallery at Avalon Island

Artist Lesley Silvia with her Paper cut  "Balancing Act" 22x30"

 Lesley Silvia's passion for paper cutting was spurred from her heritage. Scherenschnitte means “scissor cuts” in German, and is the art of paper cutting design which was founded in Switzerland  and Germany in the 1500′s, and brought to Colonial America in the 1700s by immigrants who settled primarily in Pennsylvania.
The art of Silvia's paper cuts takes on storytelling. One interesting aspect we discussed  is how she can depict gore, such as a beheading via a Silhouette, utilizing the art of cutting outlines out of black paper where upon the viewer can behold the tale without a bloodied image. Her creations are striking from a distance and even more intriguing up close as you see all of the tiny hand cuttings that make up the original artworks.

See more of the exhibit here The Art of  Lesley Silvia

"We love Orlando, but sometimes we need new adventures. This show is about dreaming and exploring. The artists featured are Bill Tarpley, Lesley Silvia, Chris Tobar Rodriguez, Tess Bo, Natalie Ayala, Mike Linger, Hio Oih, David Cookson, Maxwell Hartley, Richard Arm, Cody Zeigler, me, Adam J. Thaxton and Ivan Riascos. Jared Silvia will be DJing." - Gallery at Avalon Island

 

 

Installation by Sarah Beck

A few of us explored and discussed this installation by Sarah Beck
where I interpreted the shape of the piece to be a city or buildings. 
I like the color blocking and massive draping of this piece
created with trash bags.

 "The City" a series of graphic mixed media artworks by Chris Tobar

Tobar born and raised in Chicago, IL  attended the art Institute at the age of 12; one of the youngest students in many of his classes. He moved to Florida in 2005 to attended Full Sail University for Recording Arts but found his love in type, color and expression in Digital Art and Design. Tobar is a local Orlando multimedia artist and graphic designer, working with spray paint, wallpaper paste, paper and exacto knives.

I like the raw wood ground showing through this series. Tobar's City Series give me the feel of those quick flashes of driving through a city and looking through the glass window. The graphic cityscape pieces attract wanderlust taunting you to desire more.

The Gallery at Avalon Island is a part of the Downtown Arts District. It is a contemporary art space that displays work by emerging and established artists. The gallery is located in the historic Queen Anne style Roger’s building. It was built in 1886, and is the oldest operational building in Orlando.
Gallery at Avalon Island is a Contemporary Art Gallery located at 39 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL
Daily Operating Hours – Thursday-Saturday 11:00am-6:00pm

Catch this exhibit in January - mid February 2014

Review

Robin Maria Pedrero is a curator, public speaker, and passionate painter. Pedrero served on the board for the National Women's Caucus for Art.  She is an elected signature member of the Pastel Society of America. She is awarded Best Artist in Florida 2012 by Baterby's Art Auction Gallery, listed in Florida International Magazine’s Florida Artists Hall of Fame, and the winning Artiste Wine Label artist 2012. Pedrero is an award winning artist with work in film, museum permanent collections,  private collections & galleries in America, Great Britain, Bahrain, Italy, Spain, Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, and Australia.