Athens, Ga. – The Circle Gallery at the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design will host the exhibit “Landscapes Near and Far: Paintings by Ouida Williams and Metalwork by Barbara Mann” from Nov. 21-Dec. 19. An opening reception will be held Nov. 21 from 4:30-6 p.m. in the gallery.
The two-person exhibit examines the artists’ different styles and media. Both artists render highly crafted visions of movement within the environment.
Ouida Williams’ works are richly colored abstractions inspired by and loosely based on aerial views.
“What continues to interest me most in painting is the purely visual,” said Williams. “Describing or referring to particular subject matter challenges me less than preserving a sense of openness and mystery.”
Williams’ work has been juried into exhibitions on the local, regional and national levels. In the Savannah National Juried Exhibition, Collector’s Choice she received a Merit Award, and in the Carrollton Regional Exhibition she was awarded a Purchase Prize. Locally she has exhibited in many juried, one-person and invitational exhibits. Her large paintings were presented at Lyndon House Art Center in an exhibition supported by a grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts. Included in her list of solo shows are the J.H. Webb Gallery in Macon and the Carol Reese Museum at East Tennessee University.
While Williams works with views of the earth from a distance, Mann zooms in close.
“The subjects that interest me seem to remain constant: nature, science theories or discoveries, history, the beauty of form, materials, and detail,” Mann said.
Mann is a metal and jewelry artist. A self-employed studio artist, she is a long-time instructor for the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education, an adjunct instructor at the Lamar Dodd School of Art and a member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths. She is also the president of the Athens Metal Arts Guild. Recent exhibits include the Georgia Smallworks juried exhibition at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville, where she received Best in Show; the Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus; the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, N.C.; and the Wayne Art Center in Pennsylvania.
Landscape Architecture students from the College of Environment and Design will be assisting Williams and Mann in their installation. The exhibit is sponsored by the College of Environment and Design and Dan Nadenicek, CED dean.
The Circle Gallery, which is free and open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., is located in the Jackson Street Building at 285 S. Jackson St. on the UGA campus. Paid public parking is available in the North Campus Parking Deck.