Contemporary Mosaics at Ciel Gallery Charlotte, NC

(Artists featured in the postcard are noted below)

We are enormously grateful to Pamela Pardue Goode, mosaic artist and owner of the Ciel Gallery, in Charlotte, NC for a first look into the extraordinary juried exhibition opening there on Friday. How do we know it will be extraordinary? Because Pam has been kind enough to share with us fabulous photos of the winners along with the artists statements and illuminating juror's comments from master mosaicist Guilio Menossi.

Let's start by taking a look at the Best in Show as chosen by Menossi.

The Visit by Kathy Thaden, Colorado

20"H x 12"W x 8"D Smalti, stained glass, tile, ceramic, vitreous, stone, beads, millefiori, mirror, shell

Artist's Statement

The Visit is a sculpture portraying two women sharing an intimate greeting. The inspiration for the sculpture comes from the story of Jesus' mother Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth embraces Mary, telling Mary she is blessed for believing what the Lord told her.

It is love. It is hope. It is also about choice -- choosing to believe all things are possible.

The Visitor Detail

Juror's Statement

The Visit, the meeting, the unfolded gesture of those who find a friend again, the emotional tension of a hug. The warm color of inlaid fabric, embroidered and precious like the mantle of a prince intent on protecting his lady.

And on the other side, almost in juxtaposition, a similar but different embroidery, an inlay of pearls, a plot of lines and signs; a blue mantle in contrast with the amber, warm colors of the shape who invites to surrender.

The varied combination of different materials, the wisdom of being able to determine and arrange them with skill, so that each tessera, each fragment, each bead, each millefiori is in the exact place and everything is in perfect balance of shapes and colors, makes this a particularly refined and positively striking artwork. Both outlined figures, very clear in the artist's mind, are created and then fragmented into a magical play of colored light reflected on the mirrored base.

There, The Visit, the encounter, becomes a mixture of intermingling colors, and the juxtaposition of warm and cold breaks down to become a single collaborative hue, a call Upward, in a continuous, endless union of the colored fragments of their world.

MAN's good friend Sophie Drouin received a Special Mention from Menossi for her work, Cheeky Fish.

Juror's Statement

I gave this piece a Special Mention in order to give continuity to the reasons that led me, this year, to reward one kind of mosaic rather than another.

Cheeky Fish, the flying fish suspended above a blue, shiny, transparent atoll, places itself within the world of research, to give new life to mosaic art.

In this dimension, which could be defined as "well-rounded", the mosaic shrugs off its ancient patinas and experiments with new routes and new materials.

Research does not stop at the three-dimensionality of the work, but is reinforced by the choice of including materials other than marble or glass. Metal is skillfully and effectively used in combination with glass tesserae.

In this symbiosis of material, in this experimentation which is clearly not improvised, the mature artist can now only improve further and take new paths in the world of art.

If a visit to Charlotte doesn't fit into your schedule (or pocketbook), then consider buying the beautiful book/catalogue put together by Pam. Once you see the preview on Blurb.com, you won't be able to say no.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the juror, Giulio Menossi of Udine Italy who is as renowned for his classical mosaic portraiture as he is his exquisite abstract work.

If we're very lucky, we'll may also see a few more photos from the Ciel exhibition. That is, if Pam ever stops mopping the floor long enough to send them to us. A gallery owner's work is never done. At least, that's what she tells us.

Logistics and links below and thanks again, Pam.

Enjoy -- Nancie

Exhibition information:

Sept. 4 - Oct. 23, 2009
Ciel Gallery
1519 Camden Road
Charlotte, NC
704 577 1254

Be sure to check out the information on Pam and workshops at Ciel.

Artists in exhibition postcard: (clockwise from the left)

Shawn Newton, bitbybitmosaics.comIrina Charney, icmosaics.comCrystal Thomas, crystalthomasmosaics.com
Sophie Drouin, sophiemosaics.com
Kathy Thaden, thadenmosaics.comShug Jones, tesseraemosaicstudio.comKarin Gerstenhaber, karingerstenhaber@yahoo.com