Cara Tomlinson

This week I was unable to attend the Carrie Mae Weems lecture, so instead I opted to go to the Opening at the Clough-Hanson Gallery for Cara Tomlinson. I had never been to the Rhodes gallery before, so it was kind of confusing on how to get there, not to mention they were having a quidditch practice, and I was too nervous to interrupt to ask them where it was. Needless to say there was a bunch of wandering around before I found a non-qudditcher to lead me in the right direction. When I got into the building it really wasn't anything like I expected it to be. It was very modern and well “vintage-ish” on the inside compared to the exterior of the building which looked like it was built in 1850.
Once I stepped into the gallery and stood really close to the first painting I was intrigued. Yes, these paintings are very similar to what it going on in some abstract painting right now, but hers were unique. They reminded me of Don Estes’s paintings with the meandering line work all through them. Cara’s were very pleasing to the eye, and I enjoyed the layers of paint that were visible through the pieces.
She also had these very curious mounds of paint swatches on little tiny dollies. They were odd and unusual and I cant decide if I liked them, or if I think they are a waste of paint. They could be more interesting if they were more sculptural, or if it was more about the paint globs than the display. The small cart like dollies that the paint mounds were adhered too distracted from the paint forms.
All in all I really enjoyed visiting a new venue. I need to go to more openings at the Clough-Hanson Gallery because the food was dynamite. Also, I tried to speak with Hamlett Dobbins, but there was one woman who just wouldn't budge.