Opening reception Saturday October 22nd, 6-8PM
The reinvention and incorporation of used objects and everyday materials is a common thread that runs through Tom Pfannerstill’s carved wooden objects and Gavin Zeigler’s mixed media work. Cumberland Gallery proudly presents new work by these two nationally established artists in two separate solo shows: Tom Pfannerstill’s Trash Talk meets Gavin Zeigler’s Dichotomy of the Paper Trail.
Tom Pfannerstill will present yet another series of his remarkable wooden “trash.” These carefully carved and painted wall pieces replicate everyday American waste, commenting thoughtfully on the role of consumerism and mass production in our society. This new body of work, Trash Talk, also challenges the function of time in artmaking on many levels. Having long developed a voice through trompe l'oeil mastery, Tom’s process involves finding trash on the ground, smashed coffee cups, flattened cardboard, dirty wrappers or used containers, and taking them back to his studio. On each piece of trash the artist marks where and when he found it providing a record of his own journey through time and space. These chosen subjects, once disposed castaways, are then masterfully mimicked, treated, and elevated to the white wall, as Tom recreates the object’s journey. Tom earned his BFA from Western Kentucky University. Numerous awards throughout his 30 year career include the Kentucky Arts Council’s 2001 Al Smith Artist Fellowship and he's a member of the Louisville Visual Art Association since 1978. Tom has exhibited around the country, and his work is found in the collections of Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences, Commonwealth Life Insurance in Louisville, Gradyʼs Restaurants around the Southeast, and Western Kentucky University, in addition to many other private and corporate locations.
New York based painter Gavin Zeigler continues his investigation of mixed media paintings in this exhibit, Dichotomy of the Paper Trail. Having long directed his work toward repurposing old financial documents, stock certificates, and expired bank statements, Gavin distinguishes the difference between the original monetary representations of the items and their new value as art forms. The artist concentrates on renewing the life of these documentary objects through visual exploration of color, transparency, and balance, while achieving tactile surface texture. This he does by layering material and utilizing edges, perforations and crevices, which trap pigment. Originally from Franklin, TN, Gavin Zeigler works in Shelter Island, NY in a large studio where he renovated an old gas station. From earning his BA in Art History from Fordham University (NY) all the way through his 30 year retrospective solo exhibition in NY (2013), Gavin has exhibited nationally and has work included in the Telfair Museum in Savannah Georgia. Awards and honors include International Biennale in 2006 and the David Houston: Alexandria Museum of Art (2005), along with various publications throughout the Northeast and Nashville, including Architectural Digest.