a non-profit gallery for the visual and performing arts

2833-A Hathaway Rd., Richmond, VA 23225
in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center

Gallery hours beginning Saturday, January 22, 2022:
Noon to 4pm, Tuesday - Sunday
Free and Open to the Public
Purchase artwork from our online store

Biota (5)
2014, Acrylic and polymer on canvas, 36x36 inches
Retail Value $2,400

Artist Statement/Themes

The themes presented in my work center around personal experiences that echo the timeless struggle of individuation and the shared archetypal qualities of human consciousness. I find these same ideas elaborately described in the complex writings of Carl Jung and his expositions on the processes of personality development. It was my first forays into painting that brought me to his writings as I sought confirmation of the experiences that inform my work, and I have found that it is through these personalized experiences that we connect to humanity, all of which experiences the great archetypal ideas through highly personalized events. The paintings form a personal narrative through abstracted color and line, leaving a history of events that are both individually intimate and illustrative of broader ideas regarding human consciousness and the subconscious.

A secondary theme is rooted in my family’s heritage and the culture of my home. In 1750, my ancestors traveled the Great Road from Pennsylvania to the Blue Ridge Highlands, and there is a deep imprint of the region’s topography and Appalachian culture that has become part of my creative process. The simple and often difficult mountain life of many generations of my family, the arguably abstract crafts of quilting and furniture-building, and the paradoxical mix of regional environmental beauty, human poverty, and rich musical heritage: these are things I sense or encounter daily. I am in constant reconciliation of this part of my identity with the counterweight of my mostly urban adult life. The dearth of contemporary art expression in the Blue Ridge Highlands calls to me to create work that speaks to the largely unchanged centuries-old Appalachian culture through the lens of rural-to-urban (and back to rural) migration.

Information: Biography, Exhibitions and More

duanecregger.com