Polk County artists paint caricatures in storefront windows during Tryon’s Fourth Friday event
Released at 10:28 am on Thursday, September 15, 2022
At Tryon’s fourth Friday of the month downtown event on Friday, September 23, Polk County artist Janet Orcelli quickly paints the faces of volunteers as part of a future exhibition she’s working on. She will be installed in her Upstairs Artspace storefront window, her gallery of contemporary art in Tryon, from 5pm to her 7pm. Each drawing takes her 5 to 20 minutes and she may take a photo of the volunteer later so she can add the finishing touches to the portrait. All drawings will be archived in her Orselli collecting materials for future exhibitions. She uses graphite/charcoal pencils, inks in her pens, oils in her pastels, vine charcoal, and kneaded erasers.
“My main focus when painting figures is to capture expression and essence rather than traditional portraiture,” says Orselli. “Also, it is important to me that the act of drawing forms a personal connection with each individual. My goal is to present the completed drawings at a local exhibition.”
“We’re so happy Janet painted people in our windows on 4th Friday,” said gallery manager Steve Wong. The public will be able to view her work and see completed or nearly completed portraits. It may be one of the portraits of
As a multidisciplinary artist, Orselli produces sculptures, assemblages, drawings and site-specific installations. Her portraits are known for their ability to capture the individuality of a person and add depth to the image. Her whimsical Found Her objects seek to capture the viewer’s imagination, resurrecting artifacts of the past in a future filled with meaning. Orselli holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Clemson University. She was selected for her artist residency in Anderson Ranch, Colorado. She is from Spring Island, South Carolina. and Kaiserslautern, Germany. She is the recipient of three of her NC Artist Project Grants and a National Pollock Her Krasner Foundation Fellowship. Orselli has exhibited internationally, with more than a dozen solo exhibitions including her at OK Harris Works of Art in New York City and her Gibbs Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Her work is featured in the book 100 Southern Artists. She was selected for her Fall 2018 Artist-in-Residence at the 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, South Carolina, and completed her solo exhibition work in 2019.
Upstairs Artspace is a contemporary art gallery located at 49 S. Trade St. in downtown Tryon. It opens to the public on the 4th Friday of September and presents three of his current exhibits. The Human Connection by LA artist Katherine Baumhauer and Rock Hill, South Carolina artist Caroline Last. The Thinking Eye by Asheville artists Jeff Kinzel, Martha Skinner, Ralston Fox-Smith and Kevin Hogan. The gallery is generally open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit the website UpstairsArtspace.org.
Submitted by Steve Wong
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