Yesterday, we featured Jim Barnhill, artist, on Greensboro Daily Photo. Today's we're featuring a glimpse of his three pieces currently on display at Green Hill in the Cultural Arts Center at 200 North Davie Street. Barnhill's two paintings are gigantic and when you stand in front of them, it is as if you are in the ocean yourself viewing the scene. The placement of the three pieces is masterful. The paintings are both close to 8' by 12' (yes feet!). The Exxon Valdez painting is from 2012 and the BP Deep Water Horizon painting from 2013. The Cachalot Whale, carved from crabapple wood, was painted in 1993, early in Barnhill's career. The three pieces, spanning 20 years, hint at Barnhill's great love of water, the ocean, and the environmental impact of man's harvesting of fossil fuels. How appropriate that Barnhill is featured in Green Hill's H20 exhibit! The cachalot whale is the largest toothed predator. As we were walking past the paintings, we began to wonder... who is the real predator, the whale or the oil companies? What you can't see in our photo is that the whale is swimming above a pool of tar.
If you attend First Friday tonight from 6:00 - 8:30 pm, you can see these pieces, and many others, for yourself. Barnhill's paintings, and Holsenbeck's "Where is Our Water Falling" (made from 10,000 water bottles and lots of plastic rope) are so large, you must see them in context. Regardless of what you have planned , have a great weekend!
That is thought provoking.
Posted by: William Kendall | Friday, June 03, 2022 at 07:04 AM