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Exhibit gives glimpse into 'ever-unfolding discovery'

28.11.11

Artists often choose the subject of landscape as a way to reiterate the nostalgic and the familiar. In contrast, Fairhaven artist Willoughby Elliott, whose retrospective is now on view at the New Bedford Art Museum, uses landscape to highlight the new and the unexpected. Through vibrant color and boundless space, Elliott's paintings remind us that there is a world to discover beyond what we already know and understand.

In this exhibit, Elliott's works seem to divide themselves along stylistic lines into four distinct groupings, each revealing successive stages of his development as an artist.

The earliest stage is represented by the artworks hanging in the front room of the museum. These include three screen prints of neutral-hued stacked seashells, and three close-up views of wave-worn shell skeletons in pale pinks and peaches. Beside them is the "Celestial Clock" series, a triptych showing rounded forms such as eggs, lemons and garlic bulbs nestled inside rows of ceramic bowls. With their tenderly rendered tones, brushy surfaces, and natural subject matter, these contemplative canvases anticipate the more dramatic directions to come.

Source: SouthCoastToday.com