Beyond the Surface

Beginning on May 18, The Laffer Gallery proudly presents “Beyond the Surface,” a curated exploration of texture, depth, and narrative through the visionary works of Claire Sherwood, Robert Gullie, and David Eddy. This exhibition is one that traverses the tactile, the surreal, and the emotionally charged and focuses on what lies just beyond the surface of our daily lives.

Claire Sherwood presents a geological ballet of sculptures that whisper tales of ancient Earth. In her evocative pieces, there is a sense of the eternal, as if her creations were not shaped by hands but eroded by time itself. With a deftness borne of her philosophical musing, Sherwood’s sculptures seem to capture the very essence of organic life, their forms suggesting fossils or relics of a time when the world was a different kind of home.

Robert Gullie conjures a dance of whimsy and wonder in his mixed media collages. Gullie’s works offer a window into a world where nostalgia and fantasy intertwine. His intricate assembly of materials are reminiscent of dream sequences, with antique dolls casting long shadows over narratives rich with allegory and allusion. There is a deliberate layering of eras and emotions, each piece a palimpsest of the playful and the profound.

David Eddy unleashes a symphony of color and form in his semi-abstract style. His canvases thrum with a vibrancy that is almost audible, a visual cacophony that speaks to the chaos of life. Yet, within the seeming disarray, there is intention—a deliberate path for the eye to follow, discovering figures and stories amidst the storm of strokes and splashes. Eddy’s work is a paradox of the planned and the spontaneous, capturing the fervor of human existence.

“Beyond the Surface” is a journey into the depths of what art can evoke and provoke. The Laffer Gallery invites you for an opening reception that will allow the viewer to explore these layers, to look beyond the surface, and to emerge with a newfound appreciation of what may lie past our exterior projections.