ARTIST JONI GRUBER // ENCAUSTIC PAINTINGS AT THE CAC

ARTIST JONI GRUBER // ENCAUSTIC PAINTINGS AT THE CAC

The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa will host a presentation of work by artist Joni Gruber at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center. The exhibit, titled “Aqua,” will open with a reception on Sept. 5, 2014 from 5 – 8 p.m. during First Friday and will conclude on Sept. 26. The exhibition will present Gruber’s recent encaustic paintings portraying the ocean including works from her Black Water series representing the devastating 2010 BP oil spill.
Gruber was born and raised in Ohio by North Carolinian transplants and has lived in Tuscaloosa since 1995. She earned a BFA in Drawing and Painting from The Ohio State University. In addition to being a full-time artist, she has worked at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Birmingham Museum of Art. Her paintings, mixed media and photography have been in numerous galleries and juried exhibitions around the country including the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, Magic City Art Connection Festival in Birmingham and Double Exposure, Alabama’s annual juried photography exhibit. In 2014 her work was selected for publication in “Studio Visit” and “Art Galleries and Artists of the South.” Her work is currently on display at the biennial exhibition “B14” at the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, Ala. Gruber’s work is represented by the Encaustic Art Institute Gallery in Cerrillos, N.M.
“My paintings are composed of vaporous and fluid imagery that often reveals its own evolution,” states Gruber. “The “Aqua” exhibit reflects my strong attachment to the shimmering, translucent and eternally transforming ocean. I want to capture the qualities of movement, reflectivity and ever-shifting coloration. My intuitive style of working and the improvisational nature of encaustic (beeswax) create meditative and mythological imagery as seen from a vantage point within. These paintings portray the ephemeral quality of nature and the imprecision of dreams and memories.”
Gallery ours are weekdays from 9 a.m. – 12 noon and 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Admission is free.