On November 5th, 2010, Ann Long Fine Art will exhibit works by Louise Fenne and Charles Weed at 54 Broad Street, Charleston, SC in conjunction with the Charleston Fine Art Dealers Association’s Fine Art Annual, November 3rd – 6th. Charles Weed, American, and Louise Fenne, Danish, are two of the most well established mid-career painters of the classical realism genre. Together, they present an extraordinary show comprised of figurative works and landscapes. Residing together in Denmark, these works were produced over the past couple of years and carefully edited by the painters and gallery curators before exhibition.
As a result of his work as a student and his studies throughout England and Italy, Charles Weed was awarded a teaching position at the Florence Academy of Art early on in his career. Since then, his work has become widely sought after by his colleagues and mentors alike, which is quite telling of his talent and expertise. While he may be best known for his landscapes and pastoral scenes, the two noted portraiture pieces of this body of work include Portrait of Girl with a Dove and Girl with Pomegranates. Full of texture, these large scale oil on canvas paintings are captivating due to their subject matter and composition. The luminous skin tones of the women along with the impeccable detail of their hands create two compositions of very intriguing women. Among the landscapes include Morning Landscape and several works portraying ash, beech, and oak trees by the river. His palette is subtle, yet rich, and the power of natural light is played out in every piece. Among all of his works, there are no studies, only fully developed landscape paintings.
Mid Winter by Louise Fenne
Louise Fenne’s body of work presented for this exhibition is comprised mainly of female portraits which enlightens the viewers, exposing them to a world that is not like their own. At only 38, having studied at a private studio in Aix-en-Provence, France and The Florence Academy of Art, she is painting with old master techniques rarely seen in present times. Among the key pieces are Woman with a Japanese Rice Pot, Mid Winter, and End of Summer. All of the works create a quiet, distant moment, but each features a place and time dramatically different from the next. Painted with the technique of impasto, in which the paint is laid on the surface of the canvas very thickly, enough so that the brush or painting knife strokes are visible, the paintings are highly textured as a result. Featuring fur clothing and ornate headdresses, these details are as unique as the color tones and complexion of the individuals themselves. Like Weed, Fenne is a mid-career painter well accomplished and avidly collected by her peers and mentors.
For more information about Louise Fenne and Charles Weed and their works please contact Ann Long at 843.577.0447 or via email ann@annlongfineart.com. Dramatic figure works, landscapes, detailed drawings and etchings can be viewed on our website www.annlongfineart.com.
Ben Long, the grandson of the artist McKendree Robbins Long, was raised in North Carolina. At the age of eighteen, Long enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied creative writing with the novelist and poet Reynolds Price. He then moved to New York City to join the Art Students League where he studied with the master drawing instructor Robert Beverly Hale and painting teacher Frank Herbert Mason. In 1969, Long confronted the situation of many young men during the Vietnam conflict. Rather than be drafted into the United States Army, Long enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He then served two tours of duty in Vietnam. During his second tour he commanded the Marine Corps Combat Art Team, artists in uniform who depict the Marine Corps role during conflict. The Smithsonian Institution and US Marine Corps Museum of Washington, D.C., house much of Long’s combat art.
