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An uplifting and impassioned view of the human condition - one in which, regardless of gender, the inner power of the spirit is celebrated - defines Gail Foster's artwork.
In addition to lifestyle and trade publications, Gail Foster's art has been featured in one museum solo show, eight museum group exhibits, twenty solo private gallery exhibits, fifty-one private gallery group exhibits and thirty public collections.
Artist, philanthropist, educator and activist, Foster resides and creates in Serenbe, an environmentally-conscious community located 25 minutes south of Atlanta, Georgia.
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“In the end, all these things are related: Gail Foster in Conversation”
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Jerry Cullum
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In many ways, Gail Foster is her own best advocate. What follows is a composite
statement extracted from several hours of conversation in which she explained at
some length her process of working and how it relates to her overall vision of
spiritual unity. Foster’s quest has paralleled that of the great mythographers of our
fast-closing century, who also found the true depth of the human journey encoded
in the various forms of the world’s folktales (not the tidied-up versions we learned
as children); insight is much the same whether it occurs in Europe, Japan or Egypt,
recorded in elegant volumes or recited by the fireside. Foster’s paintings form
gateways for our own entrance into those levels of insight that, in the final
analysis, are accessible within ourselves as we cease to be our own inattentive
“selves”… when we become more or other than we ordinarily believe ourselves to
be.
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Now let us allow Gail Foster to speak for herself, in words I have done no more than
arrange in the order that her vision implies.
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I can’t paint a dark figure. No matter what happens around the figure,
there’s still
that light from within. Knowledge is ultimately cellular and intuitive—it’s in our
bodies. Art, if it’s to be truly good, needs to tap into that level of inner knowing,
that inner light.
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The many layers of my paintings and drawings are a basic part of that search for
inner knowledge. In my drawings, I use six different charcoals—the layers upon
layers are a way of getting to the point of connection where a couple of strokes
finish the work. When that happens, the link between the work and me is literally
physical. That total connection is important—in the end, every part of a painting
has to work. The color has to seem spontaneous and haphazard, but if you open
yourself up, the corners will be as important as the central figures. I learned long
ago that the most effortless-looking painting isn’t effortless. Nevertheless, the
technique isn’t what matters; it’s just the means of getting there.
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As some of the work in this exhibition shows, I’ve been reading the many different
versions of fairy tales and stories. They emanate power. I want the layers of my
painting or drawing to communicate the same levels of energy and power.
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I paint both male and female energies as literal gender or as forces within a single
personality. I want, though, to leave the images open so viewers can connect with
those energies on whatever level they want. The work is much less about my
experience than about those energies. I am a woman, so I reflect human
experience from that viewpoint, but my work isn’t just about gender—it’s about the
shared human condition.
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With the connections I make in the paintings and drawings, I hope to compensate in
some way for our lack of ritual. We race around distracted, and forget how to see
and experience the moment—and if art is supposed to do anything, it should take us
back into the moment.
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I steer away from literal portraiture—my portraits always combine gestures and
postures of several people. I learned academic portraiture early, and I think it’s
absolutely beautiful. But I’m interested in exploring much more basic questions:
“What am I here for?”
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Ascension is a continual theme—the spiritual idea of reaching up and moving
forward. That leads to the larger thought of our place as human beings. A constant
theme that I explore is “Are we falling or are we rising?” Sometimes a figure in a
painting will begin as a falling one and turn into a rising figure by the end of the
process.
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When I paint or draw the figure, I want the fire, the passion, and the light of the
soul to come out through the energy of the movement. I find some of that in
German Expressionism; I feel almost a family kinship with artists like Käthe Köllwitz,
Rainer Fetting and Emil Nolde.
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Dance and ritual are a never-ending interest for me—both are about life and
movement. I’ve been inspired by many different religious and literary traditions that
deal with the movement from darkness to light. The light remains even in the works
dealing with transition and death. Changes, passages, and choices are all part of
the journey.
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2008
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Lyon & Lyon Fine Art, “Faces of Vagina
Warriors”
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New Orleans, LA
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2006
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Lyon & Lyon Fine Art
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New Orleans, LA
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2005
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Lowe Gallery
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Santa Monica, CA
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2003
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Horizon Gallery, “Body Current”
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Santa Fe, NM
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2002
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Horizon Gallery, “Old Passions”
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Santa Fe, NM
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2001
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Fay Gold Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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2000
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Fay Gold Gallery, “Works on Paper”
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Atlanta, GA
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1999
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Columbus Museum of Art; Funded by the
Hardaway Endowment
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Columbus, GA
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Fay Gold Gallery, “Appassionata”
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Atlanta, GA
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Blue Heron
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Lexington, VA
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Barkin-Leeds Ltd., Buckhead Plaza Towers
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Atlanta, GA
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Todd Crockett Fine Art
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Little Rock, AK
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1998
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Neiman Marcus, “Illumination: The Fall
Harvest”
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Atlanta, GA
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1997
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The Lowe Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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The Gomez Gallery
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Baltimore, MD
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1996
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The Lowe Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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Todd Crockett Gallery
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Little Rock, AK
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1995
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The Lowe Gallery, “Genesis”
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Atlanta, GA
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1993
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Fay Gold Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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Harbs Gallery
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Lexington, VA
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1992
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APC Gallery, “Insights”
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Atlanta, GA
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1991
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Harbs Gallery, “Window to the Soul”
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Lexington, VA
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2009
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George Segal Gallery, “Art Connections 5”,
national juried exhibition
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Montclair, NJ
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2007
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StudioSwan, “Gail Foster and Thomas
Swanston: New Works”
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Atlanta, GA
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Soho Myriad, “Pink”
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Atlanta, GA
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2006
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Body Sacred Exhibition
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Knoxville, TN
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707 Gallery, AAS
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Santa Fe, NM
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StudioSwan, “A Select Group”
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Atlanta, GA
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StudioSwan, “Gail Foster and Thomas
Swanston: New Works”
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Atlanta, GA
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2005
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Lowe Gallery, “16th Anniversary”
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Atlanta, GA
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707, “White”
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Santa Fe, NM
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Soho Myriad, “A Common Thread”
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Atlanta, GA
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2004
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Lowe Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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2003
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Lyon & Lyon Fine Art
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New Orleans, LA
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Studio Eleven
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Lexington, VA
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Swan Coach House Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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Columbus Museum of Art, “A Celebration of
Creativity: Three Centuries of American
Masterworks on Paper”
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Columbus, GA
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2002
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Horizon Gallery
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Santa Fe, NM
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Fay Gold Gallery, “Works on Paper”
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Atlanta, GA
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2001
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Huntsville Museum of Art
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Huntsville, AL
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2000
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Gallery Nordstrand
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Oslo, Norway
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Swan Coach House Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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Harper College; 23rd National Exhibition: Small
Works”
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Palatine, IL
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Joseph House Gallery
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Columbus, GA
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University of Mobile, “Art with a Southern
Drawl”
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Mobile, AL
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Columbia College, “21st Annual Paper in
Particular National Exhibition”
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Columbia, MO
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1999
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Fay Gold Gallery, “XX/MM; 20th Anniversary
Exhibition”
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Atlanta, GA
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Joseph House Gallery, “Regional Talent”
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Columbus, GA
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Fay Gold Gallery, “Group Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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City Gallery East, “Fire”
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Atlanta, GA
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1998
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Frances King Shaw Gallery, King Plow Arts
Center
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Atlanta, GA
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Holter Museum of Art, “ANA 27”
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Helena, MT
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Alexandria Museum of Art, “16th Annual
September Exhibition”
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Alexandria, LA
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Charles Janssen Gallery, Art Institute of
Atlanta
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Atlanta, GA
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Haggin Museum, “Stockton National
Exhibition”
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Stockton, CA
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Peasant Building, “Two of Atlanta’s & Soon to
be New York’s Artistic Treasures”
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Atlanta, GA
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Columbia College, “Paper in Particular”
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Columbia, MO
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The Bank, “Castleberry Hill Loft Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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1997
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Lowe Gallery
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Atlanta, GA
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1996
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City Gallery East, “IVAC”
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Atlanta, GA
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Lowe Gallery, “An American Renaissance”
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Atlanta, GA
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Todd Crockett Gallery, “Two person Exhibit”
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Little Rock, AK
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Mobile Museum of Art
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Mobile, AL
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Lowe Gallery, “Works on Paper”
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Atlanta, GA
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1995
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Gibbes Museum, “Yankee Seeds in Southern
Soil”
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Charleston, SC
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City Gallery East, “Revival of the Figure”
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Atlanta, GA
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Stanback Museum
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Columbia, SC
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State of the Art Gallery
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Ithaca, NY
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1994
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Fay Gold Gallery, “Works by Southern Women
II”
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Atlanta, GA
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Spazi Contemporary Art Gallery, “Small Works
at Spazi”
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Housatonic, MA
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Maryland Institute College of Art, Meyeroff
Gallery, “15 x 15 Exhibition”
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Baltimore, MD
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New Visions Gallery, “100 x 100”
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Atlanta, GA
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1993
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Limner Gallery, “Small/Large Works”
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New York, NY
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New Visions Gallery, “100 x 100”
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Atlanta, GA
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Greater Augusta Arts Council, “Augusta 13th
Annual”
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Augusta, GA
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New Visions Gallery, 100 x 100
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Atlanta, GA
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Fay Gold Gallery, “Group Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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Beaverton Arts Commission, “Showcase 93”
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Beaverton, OR
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1992
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Exhibit -A Gallery, “Bitches: An All Woman’s
Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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Fay Gold Gallery, “Group Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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1991
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The Lowe Gallery, “Southern Visions”
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Atlanta, GA
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King Plow Art Center, “The Mattress Factory
Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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Exhibit -A Gallery, “2nd Annual Small Works
Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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1990
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Parsons School of Design, “Ten Years Later”
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New York, NY
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Maryland Institute College of Art, “Alumni
Exhibition”
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Baltimore, MD
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1989
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The Lowe Gallery, “Inner Views of Time and
Space”
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Atlanta, GA
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1988
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Mattress Factory Exhibition, “A Political
Show”
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Atlanta, GA
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1987
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Swanston Fine Arts, “The Land”
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Atlanta, GA
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Alembik, Fine and Callner
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Atlanta, GA
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Alston and Bird
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Atlanta, GA
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Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
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Atlanta, GA
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Atlantic American Corporation
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Atlanta, GA
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Columbus Museum of Art
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Columbus, GA
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Disney Beach and Yacht Club
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Orlando, FL
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Embassy Suites Chicago
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Chicago, IL
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Emory University; Rollins School of Public Health
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Atlanta, GA
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Ethan Allen International Headquarters
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Danbury, CT
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Euro Disney
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Paris, France
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Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
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Richmond, VA
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Four Seasons Hotel
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Atlanta, GA
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Grady Hospital Aids Wing
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Atlanta, GA
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Grove Park Inn
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Asheville, NC
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Haggin Museum
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Stockton, CA
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Hyatt Regency
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New Brunswick, NJ
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Inn at University Village
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Chicago, IL
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Intercontinental Chicago
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Chicago, IL
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Intercontinental Toronto
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Toronto, Canada
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King and Spaulding
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Atlanta, GA
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King Plow Arts Center
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Atlanta, GA
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Long, Aldridge & Norman
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Atlanta, GA
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O’Neill & Associates
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Atlanta, GA
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RDR & Associates
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Atlanta, GA
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Saks Fifth Avenue
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Nationwide
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Scentura Creations
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Atlanta, GA
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Sprint
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Atlanta, GA
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St. Regis Hotel
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New York, NY
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Ritz-Carlton
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Chevy Chase, MD
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Westin Rio Mar
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Puerto Rico
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Private Collections
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Halle Berry
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Ginair and George McKerrow
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Laura and Rutherford Seydel
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Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith
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Dale & Beverly Seefeldt
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Ted Turner
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Bibliography
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2008
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Lori Johnston, “Designs for Life and Work that Intertwine,” Atlanta
Journal-
Constitution, March 20
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LaTria Garnigan, “Painting the Town,” South Fulton Neighbor, March
19
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Featured artwork. “Deconstructing the Green Living Room,” Atlanta
Homes
& Lifestyles, February
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2007
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Featured artwork. “Factory Girl,” Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine,
July
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Rada, Joe. “Green. Clean and Serene,” Southern Living Magazine (Georgia
edition), June
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2006
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Golden, Nichole. “StudioSwan Features ‘new works’”, The
Newnan Times-
Herald, November 17
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Lerner, Jonathan. “Rustic Revolution in the Hill Country,” Atlanta
Peach
Magazine, Winter
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Campanella, Thomas J. “A Workable Utopia: Just south of Atlanta, a
sustainable village is emerging,” Metropolis, June 2006
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2005
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Harral, Alyse. “all dressed up”, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles,
October
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Frank, Peter. “Go: Gail Foster, Thomas Swanston, Tremain Smith,”
The LA
Weekly, October 21-27
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2004
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Gleim, Sarah. “Double Take for Arts Sake”, Atlanta Magazine’s
Home, Fall
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Travis, Ward. “No Boundaries”, Atlanta Magazine’s Home,
Fall
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Sawyer, Shelley. “Rise & Shine”, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles,
October
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Harral, Alyse. “Layer by Layer”, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles,
November
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Laughinghouse, Amy. “Subtle Style”, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles,
January
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Cullum, Jerry. “A Blending of Styles”, Atlanta Journal –
Constitution,
September
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2001
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Grisso, Kevin. “Flaunt, Atlanta’s Inside Art Scene”, Jezebel,
Fall
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1999
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Butler, Tom. “Recent Paintings and Drawings by Gail Foster”,
Columbus
Museum, Fall
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Blaise, Oma. “two of a kind,” Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles,
September
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Cullum, Jerry. “Words help forge a fiery intensity,” Atlanta Journal-
Constitution, June 18th
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Wall, Michael. “Harmonizing Art & Psychology,” Atlanta Business
Chronicle,
March- April
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Cullum, Jerry. “Words help forge a fiery intensity,” The Atlanta Journal-
Constitution, June
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Byrd, Cathy. “a kind of cadence,” ArtNet Magazine, January
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Locke, Donald. “Curious Kinship,” Creative Loafing,
January
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1998
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Frank, Peter. “Ana 27, A National Juried Exhibition,” Holter
Museum of Art,
Exhibition Catalogue, August
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Kittredge, Kevin. “An Artist’s Haven”, Roanoke Times,
January
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1997
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Frank, Peter. “A Choreography of Immanence”, Lowe Gallery Exhibition
Catalogue Essay, March
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Kuspit, Donald. “Gail Foster’s Sense of Womanly Identity”, Lowe
Gallery
Exhibition Catalogue Essay, March
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Tapp, Barbara. “Perfect Symmetry”, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles,
January
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Dorsey, John. “Paintings Suggest Grasping At Fog,” The Baltimore Sun,
March
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Guiliano, Mike. “In the Abstract”, City Paper, March
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Kachmann, Heidi. “Thoughtful Transformation”, Atlanta Homes and
Lifestyles, October
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Paddock, John. “Creators Creating,” Georgia Psychologist, May
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Burns, Maggie. “Green Acres,” Country Inns, August
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Wilson, Suzannah. “Serendipity at Serenbe”, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles,
August
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1996
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Knaub, Donald. “Southern Juried Exhibition- Mobile Museum of Art”,
Exhibition Catalogue.
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Melfi, Anne. “European Sense, Southern Sensibility,” The Atlanta
Business
Chronicle, January
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Brooks, Brad. “Southern Sense and Sensibility,” Southern Voice, March
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Bernstein, Sarah. “Play and Obsession, “ Jewish Times, April
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Borras, Dr. Marie Louisa. “American Renaissance”, Catalogue essay, June
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Gaston, Jane. “An Artistic Uprising”, Peachtree Magazine,
July
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Simmermon, Bob. “Monument St.”, Georgia Psychologist, Summer
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Vozza, Susan. “Dramatic Turnabout”, Boulevard, September
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Fox, Catherine. “Critic’s Notebook-IVAC at City Gallery East”, Creative
Loafing, November
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Locke, Donald. “Group Effort-IVAC at City Gallery East”, Creative
Loafing,
November
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1995
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Cullum, Jerry. “There Are a Thousand Different Spirits In This World,” Lowe
Gallery
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Exhibition Catalogue, April
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Locke, Donald. “Lowe and Behold”, Creative Loafing, May
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Greenberg, Suzie. “The Yankees are Coming!” The Herald, June-July
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Day, Jeffrey. “Artists Reveal Transformation after Transplantation: The
State, July
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Carey, Erika. “A Sense of Place”, The Gibbes Museum of Art Exhibition
Catalogue, September
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Bumgardner, George. “A Fine Show”, The Ithaca Journal, September
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Schwartz, Carolan. “Revival of the Figure”, City Gallery East
Exhibition
Catalogue, September
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Cullum, Jerry. “Figuratively Speaking”, The Atlanta Constitution, September
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Villani, John. “Atlanta Art Scene”, Southern Accents, Sept/October
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Locke, Donald. “Visual Arts Review”, Creative Loafing, October
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Blaise, Oma. “People, Short Takes”, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, November
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1994
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Morgan, Charlotte. “Atlanta Artists’ work to Benefit RACASA”, The
Rockbridge Weekly, January
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Cullum, Jerry. “It’s All Women’s Work at Gold Gallery”, The
Atlanta Journal,
June
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1993
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Connors, Kathleen. “Learning to Forget”, Visual Art Review, Art
Papers,
May/June
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Jinkner-Lloyd, Amy. “Art Highlights”, Creative Loafing, September
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Cohen, David. “Showcase 1993”, Beaverton Arts Commission Catalogue,
December
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1991
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Carbrey, Agnes. “Foster Exhibition to Open at Harbs This Sunday”, The
Lexington
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News-Gazette, September
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Culpepper, Susan. “Gail Foster: Artistic Profile”, September
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1987
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Perry, Pam. “Urban and Endangered Landscape Engineering”, Creative
Loafing, December
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Grants/Fellowships/Presentations
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2007
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Fellowship – Hambidge Center for Arts &
Sciences
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Dillard, GA
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2005
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Fellowship – Hambidge Center for Arts &
Sciences
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Dillard, GA
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1998
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Purchase Award - Haggin Museum
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Stockton, CA
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Fellowship - Virginia Center for Creative Arts
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Sweet Briar, VA
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1997
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Fellowship - Virginia Center for Creative Arts
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Sweet Briar, VA
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“Finding the Divine Without & Within,”
Conference with Normandi Ellis
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Atlanta, GA
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1996
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“Art of the Figure,” Women Business Owners
of Atlanta
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Atlanta, GA
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1995
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“American Renaissance In Film,” Copeland
Hirthler Design
|
Atlanta, GA
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“Atlanta Artist, Gail Foster,” WQXI AM 790
Atlanta Lifestyles interview
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Atlanta, GA
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1994
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“Classical Casts from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art,” Kennesaw State College
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Atlanta, GA
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1993
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“The Shame Experience in Art and
Literature,” Georgia Psychological
Association
|
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Annual Conference
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Atlanta, GA
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1991
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“Learning to Forget,” Atlanta Psychiatric
Clinic and Institute for Experimental Growth
|
Atlanta, GA
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1980
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Helena Rubenstein Fellowship
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New York, NY
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1978
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The Ford Foundation Grant
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Baltimore, MD
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1971
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Rhode Island School for the Gifted
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Providence, RI
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1980
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Parson’s School of Design, MFA
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New York, NY
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Parsons Scholarship
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Artists for the Environment, Delaware Water
Gap Six Month Studies
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Blairstown, NJ
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1978
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Maryland Institute College of Art, BFA
Summa Cum Laude
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Baltimore, MD
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Mayoral Scholarship, Councilmatic
Scholarship
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Maryland Institute College of Art
Scholarship, Maryland State Scholarship
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Art Institute of Boston
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Boston, MA
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