"Kathy Gore Fuss & Amy Huddleston, Direct Observation: Two Approaches", May 7 – June 30, 2016, Reception: Sat., May 7, 2 - 4pm

Amy Huddleston, "The Listener", 2010, casein, 11 x 14"

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"Direct Observation: Two Approaches" installation, Curated by Norman Lundin, PROGRAPHICA/KDR

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Wooded Canopy", 2014, oil on linen panel, 9 x 12"

Amy Huddleston, "EB in the Kitchen", 2015, oil on canvas, 44 x 29"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "A Gray Beginning", 2015, graphite on paper, 13.25 x 21"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Portal I", 2015, oil, 20 x 24"

Amy Huddleston, "Hand with Twig Study", 2015, oil on linen, 9 x 12"

Amy Huddleston, "Empty Box", 2015, casein, 12 x 14"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Judy's View", 2014, oil n canvas, 28 x 36"

"Direct Observation: Two Approaches" installation, Curated by Norman Lundin, PROGRAPHICA/KDR

Amy Huddleston, "Tree Shadow by the Alibi Room", 2015, gouache, 9 x 4.75"

"Direct Observation: Two Approaches" installation, Curated by Norman Lundin, PROGRAPHICA/KDR

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Birch Grove II", 2014, oil on panel, 16 x 20"

Amy Huddleston, Figure in Red Robe", 2014, oil on hardboard, 37 x 18.5"

"Direct Observation: Two Approaches" installation, Curated by Norman Lundin, PROGRAPHICA/KDR

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Loading Day Two", 2015, charcoal on paper, 13.5 x 21"

Amy Huddleston, "Pink Wig", 2015, oil on canvas board, 11 x 14"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "The Dispatching", 2016, oil on canvas, 16 x 12"

Amy Huddleston, "Beachcomber", 2016, casein, 8 x 10"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Loading I", 2014, oil on linen panel, 9 x 12"

"Direct Observation: Two Approaches" installation, Curated by Norman Lundin, PROGRAPHICA/KDR

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Winter Lean", 2014, oil on paper, 14 x 10"

Amy Huddleston, "Boy on teh Beach", 2012, acrylic, 6 x 6"

Amy Huddleston, "Boy on the Beach", 2012, acrylic, 6 x 6"

Amy Huddleston, "White Coat", 2016, Acrylic, 10.75 x 16"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Afternoon Light Looking North", 2014, oil on paper, 5.5 x 4.75"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Loading I Study", 2015, oil on paper, 4.5 x 5.5"

Amy Huddleston, "Juanita Beach", 2012, gouache, 4.75 x 4.5"

Kathy Gore Fuss, "Cloud Covered", 2016, oil on paper, 5 x 7.5"

Amy Huddleston, "Tree at St. Edward Park", 2014, casein on paper board, 6 x 6"

"Direct Observation: Two Approaches" installation, Curated by Norman Lundin, PROGRAPHICA/KDR

About "Kathy Gore Fuss & Amy Huddleston, Direct Observation: Two Approaches", May 7 – June 30, 2016, Reception: Sat., May 7, 2 - 4pm

KATHY GORE FUSS & AMY HUDDLESTON

DIRECT OBSERVATION: TWO APPROACHES

Both Kathy Gore Fuss and Amy Huddleston work from direct observation, but they use this traditional tool very differently. One would never confuse their two bodies of work.

Four years ago Kathy Gore Fuss began spending much of her painting time out in the forests around her Olympia home rather than in the studio. She was curious how working from direct observation would change her painting. It has sharpened her eye and guided her hand as well as deepened and expanded her narrative vision of the forest. This is perhaps especially true in the work on view as Gore Fuss has, for the past year, filled the unique role of artist in residence at the Port of Olympia, and as such she has had access to the loading facilities and crews of Chinese and Japanese ships that dominate the shipping of lumber at West Coast ports. Her narrative begins in the forest and follows through to the loading dock. While the narrative content, explicit and implied, is there, her intent is not to document but rather to use the “Industrial Forest” as a vehicle for her ideas about painting. Gore Fuss understands that her narrative serves the painting, not the other way around. These paintings are “stand-alone works” and compelling as the story is, do not require the narrative to find meaning as works of art.

Amy Huddleston writes: “Two years ago I decided to work entirely from observation, with a muted and limited palette. I learned a great deal through this work; which was based on measuring in order to help me better understand spatial relationships. I felt a strong desire to see what this could bring to my work.” Huddleston’s passion is for observation detached from narrative. Because she knows how to paint well indeed, her straightforward approach will have its rewards, among them, allowing psychological expression to be a by-product, rather than the intention of her efforts. This compelling subjective expression, while it arrives without invitation, does become a significant aspect of her work.