BELLOWS FALLS — Works on Paper's gallery at 7 The Square is exhibiting a collection of drawings, Figments of the Imagination, by local artist Gil Perry.
This is the first time his drawings have been seen together as a comprehensive body of work. The drawings will be on display through Jan. 21.
Perry's drawings are incredibly detailed imaginations built up by intensely layered marks of graphite and ink on the paper.
“I reach a state of wonder and discovery when I draw,” he said. “In an unconscious way, I am developing an extraordinary vocabulary of design by letting go and giving my imagination voice As the drawing unfolds and my poetic imagination takes over, there is a great deal of restraint in my conscious mind to not give way to 'pareidolia' - or seeing faces in non-face objects, and to grab just any image that first emerges.
“In this way, I descend into deeper strata of the unconscious to a more mythic realm. Leaving the mechanisms of the conscious mind behind, there is a sense of leaving the world of time and entering the realm of the Eternal. It is this threshold that I call the Whispering Gallery. When the ego becomes transparent and the center of the self dissolves into an emptiness, or cloud of unknowing, this absence is actually a presence where the divine dwells.”
Works on Paper is an art conservation studio specializing in prints, drawings, watercolors, maps, documents, and other artistic and historic works on paper. The front of the studio was recently converted to gallery space to feature the work of local artists who also work on paper. The studio and gallery are open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and by appointment. Contact them at 802-460-1149 or [email protected].