VISUAL ARTS

In her debut solo exhibit titled "Closer", Gorse Mill Studios encaustic artist, Amalia Tagaris, takes an introspective approach by re-examining the artist's studio as the subject for her new paintings. The photographic images she presents are various objects in her own creative space which serve as the foundation of her work, some of which are used during the painting process and some which are simply aesthetic props like a decorative pillow or the leaves from a lucky bamboo plant. Tagaris uses the ancient Greek art form of encaustic painting which is the process of painting with layers of molten wax that are combined with colorful pigments. The artist applies the wax directly onto her photographs and fuses each layer together with heat gun. The effects of this technique are quite visually appealing since the wax layers give the paintings depth and luminous qualities. A viewer examining Tagaris’ work “Sublime” will be captivated by the stunning geometric patterns and strong hues before they realize that the white spaces, shadows, and curves in the background are actually a photograph of five rolls of paper towels. The artists' aim is to shift the perspective on her inanimate subjects in order to reinvent the ordinarily mundane into colorful paintings with playful shapes and forms. Her unique work is on display from February 2-15 at the Gorse Mill Gallery at 31 Thorpe Road in Needham. The show opens with a gala reception on Thursday, February 2nd from 5-8 PM at the gallery where visitors can meet the artist and get an opportunity to speak with her about her new paintings.