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Here is some exclusive pictures of the last Melissa Forman’s show!

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Melissa Forman – The Keepers of Creation (8 images)»View The Gallery

Opening Reception Saturday, November 13, 2010 from 7‑10pm
On View November 13 – December 8, 2010

Corey Helford Gallery is pleased to present new works by Ohio artist Melissa Forman and UK illustrator and street artist Andy Council. Forman returns to Corey Helford Gallery for her first solo exhibition entitled “The Keepers of Creation”, which will be featured the main gallery space.

For “The Keepers of Creation”, Forman’s work takes a personal direction to unveil an enchanting visual sanctuary. Consisting of sixteen new works, the artist’s striking female portraiture is populated with symbolism, illustrating intimate habitats where various elements from the environment interact to protect and support each other.

Forman notes, “Each painting in this series represents a different aspect of the natural world and the importance of respecting and protecting it. Nothing is taken for granted in the world of the Protectors and the goddesses, wildlife, and natural world have developed a truly symbiotic relationship.”

Forman created each piece as an individual story. Humans serve as guardians of nature – watching over the wildlife, stars, water and forests. In one painting, Forman presents the story of the Goldfinch, a symbol of Christ. Surrounded by thorn bushes, the Goldfinch’s human protector is maternal and nurturing, similar to the Virgin Mary. Adopting attributes and characteristics from the bird, her subject’s hair is adorned with an array of delicate feathers and her clothing reflects the Goldfinch’s brilliant yellow coloring.

Special guest UK artist Andy Council will debut ten new works for his first exhibition with Corey Helford Gallery, entitled “Parallel Evolutions”. Based on his fascination with urban myths, beasts, dinosaurs and more, Council’s vibrant and playful imagery will delightfully dominate the loft space. Council adds, “Mankind’s creations often mirror those of natures. In my work manmade machines and cities are exaggerated and evolved further still into fantastical creatures and organic forms. This latest body of work has natural forms made up of common place human creations of the modern world that are often destructive to ourselves and the planet.”

Open to the public, the receptions for “The Keepers of Creation” and “Parallel Evolutions” will take place on Saturday, November 13 from 7 to 10pm, and the show will be on view until December 8, 2010.

Melissa Forman – Paintings

Melissa Forman spends her time creating a richly visual world filled with characters created from an opulent, mysterious, and often eerie imagination. Her lovely, idealized figures seem lost in their own worlds, drifting between the 16th, 18th, 19th and 21st centuries. Created from a mix of appropriated imagery from times long past and modern photographs from her personal collection, her portraits draw from obvious traditions in the genre but take on a life of their own. Her figures are strangely perfect and almost frozen in their expressions and poses. They evoke a traditional sense of etiquette and grace while reaching outside of their image to provide a window into something deeper and far more human. While these mysterious, and sometimes withdrawn, figures were created from photos of friends and family of the artist, they are not meant to represent themselves, rather, they portray emotional states and aspects of the human psyche. Melissa has carefully calculated each one by changing colors and manipulating features to evoke a mysterious and sentimental mood. Alienated from their real world and time, these images become metaphors for emotional and psychological states. They exist as a product of Melissa's pursuit to create beauty and recognize the elegance and sincerity of genuine human emotion.

Melissa has been drawing and painting commissioned portraits since she was 14. She attended the Columbus College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in 2002. She now lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio. Her personal work has been show in galleries around the world, from New York City to Seattle to Los Angeles to Berlin, Germany to Bristol, England.

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