Editor, GC Summit:

Our current exhibition at Hyde Art Gallery offers up a wonderful collection of paintings by three very talented and dedicated artists.  Wade Cline, Suong Yangchareon, and William Glen Crooks present us with landscapes that are an amalgam of  the “schools” of Plein-air and Photo-realism. 

These three painters have taken a divergent path between the emphatic emphasis on the surroundings being painted directly in the environment (as in Plein-air) and the rather extreme focus on the careful drafting of the images as they would be seen in a photograph (as in Photo-realism).

Seemingly, all three artists have painstakingly observed and deftly captured beautiful landscapes.  And yet, the work of each of these three artists displays more than just a replication of what they see.  A rich painterly quality is crafted into each work of art.  With looking closer, the joy and the passion for the process becomes obvious to the viewer.  Confident brush strokes and an able working of the medium produce layered surfaces of sustained interest in all of these paintings.

It is clear that the art of these three makes a strong reference to the love of the subject matter, a love of painting, and the emotional content of what these artists have chosen to show us.  Within each artist’s style resides a unique form of tranquility.  The subject matter and the manner in which it is shown are indeed a joy to see.

Ben Aubert, Curator
Hyde Art Gallery