Kelly’s Sharp painting, Dappled Sharp, is seen at Southside Gallery on the Square in Oxford, Miss., Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. (DM Photo/Cady Herring)
An exhibition of the Kelley Sharp’s oil paintings, titled “Constitution Lakes,” will be featured at Southside Gallery on the Square until Sept. 27.
No stranger to Oxford or Southside, Sharp completed her Master of Fine Arts degree at The University of Mississippi and worked at Southside during her time in Oxford. Currently, Sharp lives in Atlanta and has recently become a full time artist who specializes in commissioned portraits. Sharp’s works also include landscapes, drawings and even mixed media pieces using fabric and hair.
“Constitution Lakes” includes 15 of Sharp’s pieces: a mix of oil on canvas and oil on linen. It also includes pieces inspired by the Constitution Lakes Nature Preserve in Atlanta. Sharp began this series when a friend invited her to explore Atlanta’s forests.
Sharp describes the preserve as “a beaten path off an industrial area where you can find a hidden gem of a forest and a lake.”
Sharp based her pieces on the directional elements of the trees and the patterns they created in the forest.
“I have been in the forest a hundred times, but this was amazing, the trees were so vertical,” Sharp said.
A bit of a departure from her normal work, Sharp completed the collection by playing with the natural repetition of the trees and colors of the forest.
“When doing so many paintings, you have to keep inventing more directional movements,” she said.
Sharp’s paintings are of nature but carry a modern, linear concept.
Southside Gallery has exhibited local, regional and international artists since 1993 and are especially excited to exhibit Sharp’s work.
“We are thrilled to have Kelley exhibiting at Southside and have great respect for her and her work,” gallery assistant Anna Benefield said. “Our past association with Kelley makes this a very special exhibit.”
When asked to describe Sharp’s current exhibit, Benefield was impressed with the direction of this series.
“The paintings have the feel of abstract forest ‘scapes,’” she said.
Owned by Vickie M. Cook, the gallery encourages the Oxford area art enthusiast to visit Sharp’s exhibit as well as those of the other featured artists for the fall.
Catherine Holman, a current senior at The University of Mississippi finishing her degree in studio art, is excited to see Sharp’s exhibit.
“Teachers, grad students and everyone in the art department offer lots of insight on how to stay connected in Oxford’s art community,” Holman said. “It’s nice to see someone like Kelley Sharp who has an Ole Miss background being featured at the local gallery.”
“Constitutional Lakes” is free and open to the public for viewing until Sept 27. Sharp will be at the reception for her exhibition from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday.
-Sara Kiparizoska
