99
North Main
Rochester, VT 05767
(802) 767-9670
Terrie
Pipa
The
selected works shown by Terrie Pipa include her finely observed,
and exquisitely rendered oil paintings of children. The silhouettes
of the figures concentrate the intention of each "small gesture,"
imbuing the captured moment with significance, and implying a full-rounded
future. Spare realism and super-real caricature reveal a world woven
of these moments--all saying, life is lived here.
Links to more examples of Terrie Pipa's work:
Artist Statement:
I am that
person on the bus, the train, the building's front stoop, quietly staring.
And as I watch, I wait for what I call "the in between moments".....
the look that passes on the man's face one second after he's been told
news, but before his brain has told him what to do.... the gaze of a young
girls' eyes right before she drops her tightly held letter in the mailbox....
the indecision of an old woman who shuffles along the block of her home,
stops and looks back, once, then twice, before she moves on.
It's when I can see someone feeling something so innately that they are
acting out of pure instinct, rather than out of experience that I refer
to as the "in between moments". When they've forgotten all that
they've been told or seen. It's when I see this happen that I am stopped
cold .
For the paintings in this show I thought a lot about these moments, but
specifically on how they pertain to children. If adults revert back to
innocence, what happens with children? What does it look like when a child
experiences something for the first time? What happens when children shift
from being purely sensory driven to being a person of experience? What
does that moment look like when the veil of innocence has been lifted?
And how long and how many times does this have to happen before they have
passed over the line beyond their innocence?
The backgrounds of these paintings are monochromatic. I did this partially
because I feel that colors carry their own psychological meanings, and
also because I felt the moment should be isolated, and focused..
About the Artist:
Small Gestures_Terrie
Pipa’s Realistic Works
By Amy Cavanaugh
I have always been attracted to abstract work and color, and this posed
a major question in my mind: Why do I have Terrie Pipa’s figurative
artwork saved on my computer desktop? I did not know Terrie or her story,
but was deeply attracted to her work and found myself sporadically clicking
on her images during the day. How do I interact with this piece? How will
others feel when they see this painting? The name of this show is “Small
Gestures.” I think the viewer will find them anything but small.
Currently residing in New York, Terrie began her studies here, in the
greater Washington area. She studied at the University of Maryland and
lived in Adams Morgan. Anyone familiar with Washington, DC has experienced
Adams Morgan and its energy. It is with that same energy that Terrie used
to create a mold for herself from a recipe of change, diversity and improvisation.
It is easy to tell that Terrie is a student of human nature. By looking
into the eyes of her models you can see her reaching through and pulling
out a thought. This might not be a shared thought, but an idea that we
can all relate to, an expression we have seen and can place in our experiences
and memories. It is personal to the viewer. To remember that location,
time or particular instance is a true experience. Some of the gestures
in this collection are what I would consider instances. They pass and
go, and one wishes they had noticed them when they were present. I think
Terrie is able to recreate these instances for us.
Terrie continued her studies abroad, in Florence, where she furthered
her observations of daily life from the fallible to the perfectionist.
In a portion of this exhibition, Terrie captured her daughter (and subject)
in a matter that is almost like the look you were not supposed to see,
but did anyway. I think this is very familiar and cognizant approach to
an unconscious experience that may have only lasted a few moments.
The watercolors chosen, I believe, are translucent layers of Terrie’s
thought process. That process seems translated into her other mediums
very distinctively, particularly “Eve in the Garden.” Here
layers, like a sheet, were placed over the painting. This leads the image
to have a double meaning, much like the more realistic work in this collection,
whose layers are more subtly displayed. I believe this is an opportunity
for the viewer to decide what layer they would like to unfold, to find
a parody between the literal and conceptual.
Despite the fact that Terrie’s work is based in realism, the abstract
and color are certainly present, and if “Black Girl,” one
of my favorite pieces in this show, were on my wall I know exactly how
I would interact. I would visit her everyday and she would invoke a new
contextual thought for me. What a gift.
Curator Amy Cavanaugh is the arts director for Arch Development Corp.
in Washington and an accomplished cellist.
Artist Curriculum Vitae:
Terrie Pipa
(631) 949-4179
website:www.terriepipa.com
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2006
SMALL GESTURES, Project 4 Gallery, Washington, DC
SELECTIVE GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2006
SALON 2006 – Wilkinson Gallery, New York, NY
COPILANDIA, A gratis project, Centro de Arte de Sevilla, Spain
2005
HOT CAKES - Afif Gallery – Philadelphia, PA
NEW REALISM - Ratio Gallery - Bellport, NY
TAKE HOME A NUDE – Phillips – NY, NY
COLOR AND TEXTURE - Gloria Kennedy Gallery –
Brooklyn (Dumbo), NY
THE NATIONAL ARTS CLUB– NY, NY
2003
TAKE HOME A NUDE – Sotheby’s – NY, NY
2002
PINK ONIONS -W. Wankelman Gallery - Bowling Green, OH
2001
TAKE HOME A NUDE – Christie’s - NY, NY
1998
MFA DIPLOMA SHOW Wilkinson Hall – NY, NY
1997
DRAWING ESHIBITION – Juan Cardenas, curator - NYAA– NY, NY
1996
FIRST YEAR DRAWING SHOW – NYAA - NY, NY
1995
HEAVEN AND EARTH - Tribeca Lab - NY, NY
1993
OIL/OLIVE OYL – Bond Street Studio Gallery – NY, NY
1992
BAD CHILDHOOS – Palma Kolansky Gallery - NY, NY
1991
AFTER HOURS – Crosby Street Studio - NY, NY
1989
SIDE SHOW - Cave Cannem Gallery – NY, NYCOLLECTIONS
Works in private collections in NY- NJ - CONN - Wash. DC-
London, England
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Painting - New York Academy of Art– NY, NY
Private studies of Life drawing and Painting-
Florence, Italy
Media Arts, School of Visual Arts – NY, NY
Nelson Shanks Intensive- Philadelphia, PA
Corcoran School of Arts – Washington, DC
BA University of Maryland- College Park, MD