The Carnelian Collection opening reception

Madison, Wisconsin, Feb. 2 – Carnelian Art Gallery, located at 221 King St., Suite 102, in downtown Madison, is pleased to announce its first art exhibition of the year, titled “The Carnelian Collection.”

This exhibition is dedicated to the artists whose works have become part of the gallery’s growing permanent collection, and is a general celebration of their respective imaginations – each artist brings something distinctive to bring to the table in terms of style, aesthetic, message and medium.

Participating artists include Chuck Bauer, Amanda Langer, Kevin Kiley, James Widder, Dylan Waddell, Nastia Craig and Daniel Fleming.

The Carnelian Collection exhibition is slated to kick off with an opening reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 6, and is to be on display until Friday, March 27. As always at Carnelian Art Gallery, admission on opening night is free, and light refreshments will be served.

At 6 p.m. on opening night, Bauer will deliver an artist talk regarding paintings of his the gallery recently added to its collection. This is a talk prospective visitors will not want to miss.

“I am both flattered and honored to be part of Madison’s premiere downtown commercial fine art gallery,” says Bauer.

Bauer employs logic when creating his works. His painting process has a clear beginning, middle and end. Beginning usually involves a canvas on which he has painted an opaque color, like bright red. Then comes a simplified charcoal outline of what Bauer wants to paint using photos or by working outdoors for reference. He tends to gravitate toward natural and representational subjects, like landscapes and the built environment. After the initial charcoal drawing, Bauer adds a dark and light value using acrylic paint.

Finally, he applies oil paint over the acrylic to bring out the true quality of the scene he’s painting.

Sometimes, Bauer will take more liberties, adding his own personal flair to a normally banal landscape. A winter setting might become a whimsical autumn one. And sometimes, that decision isn’t even up to Bauer, he said, as his creations often reveal themselves to him on their own.

He originally grew up in Philadelphia. He discovered his passion for art at university. Bauer is a 1965 graduate of The William Penn Charter School out of Pennsylvania. In 1966, he studied art history in Paris, France, for a summer.

Bauer went on to receive in 1968 his undergraduate degree at Ohio Wesleyan University. He then obtained his graduate degree in fine art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1969. In 1972, Bauer opened The Soap Opera, a gift retail store, which now operates on State Street in downtown Madison (just a hop and a skip from the gallery), with his husband, also named Chuck Beckwith.

Together, the couple operated the business until 2016, when they sold it. During that time, Bauer refined his artistic process by working with mentors, taking workshops, and experimenting with different techniques on his own. He continues to do so in his retirement, most often turning to en plein air and other forms of traditional, representational easel painting.

“The artists in this exhibition are more than artists,” says Emilie Heidemann, Carnelian Art Gallery marketing director. “They are our friends. They work hard. And they deserve every opportunity in the world to be celebrated for the blood, sweat and tears they put into their creations – especially now.”

More about each artist

Widder has always had “creative talent which I believe I inherited from my father, who is also an artist. I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Because my family saw I had talent around the age of 8, I began doing creative projects with my family friend and artist Scott Bean. I did drawing, sculpture, painting and printmaking. Upon beginning my junior year of high school, I was accepted to the Perpich Center for Arts Education, an arts high school in my hometown. I’ve been creating art my entire life. I moved to Madison in 2011 where I now live on its east side and continue to create.”

Langer “studied both sculpture and natural resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, earning her undergraduate degree in fine art 2017. She spent the following years working in ecological restoration and landscaping with native plants. Her artwork is informed by her experiences in this field, and is especially focused on exploring conflict between industry and nature, systems and people, and within the self. She was previously a resident artist at Wisconsin Art Hub in Cambridge, has shown her work in gallery spaces around Wisconsin and has completed public works for the Stevens Point Sculpture Park, Hart Park in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Langer also completed commissioned artwork for the Rochester Art Center. She has been awarded at the Art Fair Off the Square, Stevens Point Festival of the Arts, and the Mary Hoard Art Show.”

Craig is a “visual artist based in Madison, Wisconsin. Born in Odessa, Ukraine, her work explores abstraction through layered compositions that balance intuition, structure and emotional nuance. She works primarily with painted polyester film, acrylics, inks and mixed media, assembling surfaces that hold tension, movement and quiet resilience. Her process is exploratory and intuitive, allowing forms and relationships to emerge through making. Craig’s work has been exhibited throughout the Midwest and beyond and is held in both private and public collections. In addition to her studio practice, she is an independent interior designer and creative lead who collaborates closely with local architects. Her work in this role may be familiar to the public through projects such as Sushi RED, Jacknife, and Forage Kitchens (Middleton).”

Fleming’s paintings, according to his website, “explore ideas of isolation, connection, introspection, loss, distance and an overwhelming sense of the unknown, resulting in an enveloping world of symbol, color, and surreal landscapes populated by mysterious, yet oddly familiar, figures. The paintings take form organically through a process of discovery rather than pre-planning. Marks are made, surfaces are built, and eventually, scenes and figures emerge naturally and unexpectedly. This meditative process, an almost abstract approach, reveals thoughts, emotions and ideas that connect to the everyday, yet also stand on their own as representations of the human experience that all viewers can find solace and connection within.”

Waddell grew up in Columbus, Wisconsin, and now lives and works in Madison. Waddell paints and makes his collages on the same easel he bought at Goodwill over 17 years ago. His main goal in creating is to build interesting compositions rather than to convey ideas. Waddell wholeheartedly tries to make art for no one but himself. His new body of collages are an attempt to break free from the figures that have generally dominated his painting practice, while committing to a more free- flowing and spontaneous form of expression. Waddell builds up compositions while breaking them down simultaneously.

Kiley was “raised in a rural area south of Stoughton, Wisconsin. He received recognition for art at an early age in the local newspaper, and was voted “most artistic” in high school. Later, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire, then worked in Chicago for two years. Kiley has worked as an independent painting contractor doing home improvements in the Madison area for 20-plus years. Many projects are on historical houses. He creates his own paintings in his free time, and also plays improvisational guitar. Kiley has exhibited in Stoughton, Eau Claire, Chicago and Madison throughout his lifel. Currently residing in Stoughton, Kiley embraces the local landscape where he grew up. He is inspired by tobacco sheds, marshlands, and weathered edges of towns, visiting or viewing at dusk, twilight or after dark. Kiley mostly applies acrylic paint, also oil and watercolor paints, charcoal and chalk pastel, pencil and ink. A variety of media keeps him entertained and excited about the process of making art.”

“Carnelian Art Gallery is beyond thrilled to kick off its third year of exhibitions,” says Evan Bradbury, Carnelian Art Gallery owner and head curator. “We hope you join us as we aim to celebrate the artists that make up the Carnelian Collection.”