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PRESS RELEASES

A CONTAINED SENSE OF EXCITEMENT
Artist Tina Sotis to show new work at Lauren Clark Fine Art

Somewhat familiar, somewhat foreboding, the paintings of American artist Tina Sotis feature architectural forms that resemble our own backyards and houses, but her use of light and shadow infuse these common subjects with a deeper, hidden meaning. Abandoned, inhabited, recently left or soon to be discovered, the enigmatic figures that people Sotis’ landscapes are as mysterious and possible as the subjects themselves.

Influenced by the surrealist work of such painters as Remedios Varo and Giorgio de Chirico and the Film Noir classics of Hitchcock, Sotis strives to “create an atmosphere of solitude and introspection into which the viewer can enter without interruption”. Equally inspired by such timeless American novels as “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Sotis’ pursuit of the unseen is also visible in her evocative titling. “The Library” and “Townsend’s Solitaire” are just a few of the fifteen or so paintings that will be on display from August 11^th through September 9^th, 2007 at Lauren Clark Fine Art at 402 Park Street (Route 183) in Housatonic. A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, August 11 from 4-7pm.

For more information, visit www.tsotis.com, or telephone 413-258-8166 (studio). Contact info for Lauren Clark Fine Art is 413-274-1432 or visit www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com. The Gallery is open Thursday thru Monday 10-5, Sunday 12-4.

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For Immediate Release For Further Information, please contact
Pamela Siemon 203.263.3449

ROLE OF ART IN THE QUEST FOR ENLIGHTENMENT
UNDERLYING THEME IN “PIERCING THE VEIL”

Woodbury, CT - “Piercing the Veil” opens Wed., Aug. 9th and runs through Sept. 17th at Fenn Gallery. On exhibit will be oil paintings by Tina Sotis and alabaster sculpture by Louise Porter-Hahn. The public is invited to meet the artists at the Opening Reception from 4-6 pm on Sat., Aug. 12th.

Just as dreams can reveal truths otherwise buried when we are awake, so too can art tap into unreality to bring something new to light. Both artists in this show work at the convergence of abstraction and realism to reveal us to ourselves. Sotis paints spare interiors and stark scenes with minimal distraction to free the way for the viewer’s entry. Her nearly deserted streets and empty rooms, which nonetheless hold clues to their absent inhabitants, are abstractions of a reality we can all recognize. The well balanced compositions draw us in with immediately recognizable imagery, an open window or a billowing curtain; but the abstract presentation of space and color, and the haunting stillness of the scenes invite deeper contemplation. There is a fleeting sense that some unseen drama is about to unfold, and often the most important thing her work portrays is what is not there.

Sotis uses metaphor for human presence; thus a fluttering sheet represents expectation and a mirror suggests infinity, or prompts a viewer’s reflection. Houses stand in for the subconscious with its windows and doors a way to see in and out of oneself. Influenced by the surrealists, and the cinematography of directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Sotis draws upon the mystery and voyeurism portrayed in films from that era in her use of light, space and a sense of something unseen. In “Letters to My Father” a brightly lit cluster of houses stand in a meadow. The blustery wind has the grass swirling, doors ajar, window shades askew. Between and around the houses, small pieces of note paper are in various stages of flight. Her soft transitions in light, color and edge gently lull you into the turbulent environment, while the redemptive pastel sky beyond offers repose.