Mango Tango Art Gallery opens a dynamic show of works by three artists: Phyllis Charles, Brian Murphy and Kat Stevens from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 30,. Louis Taylor on keyboards and Ras Abu on congas will add to the art gala.
Phyllis Charles grew up in Puerto Rico, spent 25 years in New York working as fiber fabric artist, and then made St. Croix her home for 30 years. As a volunteer at the Botanical Gardens on St. Croix, she began painting vibrant florals. The varied colors, shapes and textures inform each work.
More recently, she started painting tropical animals with an attitude. She notes, “My animals have an assertive gaze directed at the viewer, sometimes challenging, sometimes judgmental, sometimes inviting.” She calls her grouping of colorful flowers and fruits and whimsical animals “Flora and Fana Tropicale.”
Brian Murphy is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design. His girlfriend, who became his wife, grew up on St. Thomas and brought him here. He says, “The natural beauty of St. Thomas and the surrounding islands never ceases to amaze me. My goal is to capture the sea, the beaches and architecture with both loose and fresh brushstrokes. I also visited the Netherlands and Denmark this past summer. From my sketches on location, I tried to capture a moment in time in two larger works completed in the studio for the show.”
Kat Stevens has been represented by the gallery for over a decade. She is a self-taught artist who has excelled in all her creative endeavors, from sign painter to graphic artist, to Christmas ornament painter, to palm frond sculptor and painter, to Mango Tango’s fine artist. She counts Mel McCuddin as her greatest influence. She offers 30 abstract and figurative expressionist works that are 12 by 12 inches or smaller. She calls her intriguing selection “Talk Amongst Yourselves.”
Kat Stevens describes her thoughts.
“I have seen how there is a unique conversation others have with my works. Something glances out at someone and sees their heart, their spirit, and continues the conversation. The ideas that come to me, the images that jump out of the smears and drips have made me both laugh and cry, but mostly tears of joy, mixed with paint on my cheeks, usually blue. You and your inner child are welcome to run with your imagination in my world. May you be joyful, growing and free.
The message…look at creation through the eyes of a child, see with the eyes of imagination, stir the sub-conscious memories, let the colors blend into a beautiful backdrop, where you can see the story unfold the way you wrote it,” said Kat Stevens.”
The stellar three-artist show continues for one month. View the gallery’s website www.mangotangoart.com or call 777-3060 for more information.
