Spring 2013 will begin, at AXELLE FINE ARTS GALERIE, on a high point with the work of Connecticut-based painter HOLLIS DUNLAP.

Hollis Dunlap: Illuminations is the artist’s fourth solo exhibition at Axelle Fine Arts in Boston. Dunlap’s powerful new work features brilliant light infused renditions of both the figure and the artist’s pastoral surroundings. Opening reception Saturday, March 9 6-8pm (FREE RSVP required). Spirits provided by the fine Bully Boy Distillers based in Boston.

Of his latest work, Dunlap states:

I have always enjoyed the look and feel of oil paint, and don’t make many attempts to make the image look like anything other than a painting. I find the realism of an image can become more compelling when it is obviously made up of paint of various colors and shapes. Each shape and color is influenced by its partner to look the way it does; the direction of mark making, the thickness of paint, and each color is carefully considered within each work to suggest three dimensional space and light effects.

The artist’s highly detailed portraits record the changing appea

rances and shifting moods of his subjects. Many of the figures hold a steady gaze with viewers, as if to suggest profound secrets that might be revealed if one stared hard enough.

On the other hand, a portrait, Breaking through, expresses tenderness. The subject’s wisps of hair frame an almost translucent face; her eyes, unfocused, appear to be searching.

The landscapes and interiors are brilliant and intricate examples of realist paintings taken to an illuminated state. Utilizing light and shadow, Dunlap gives his paintings maximum visual and emotional impact. Arboretum depicts a forest extending into the hillside as shadows and trees intersect over the lake. Light plays over each form as rocks and undergrowth emerge from the ground. The expansive panorama evokes the passage of time and the vastness of nature.

Paintings by Hollis Dunlap have received several noteworthy awards including winning the National Arts Club Student Show first prize for two consecutive years. Upon graduation from the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts he received the Stobart Fellowship, a grant to paint for a year and hold a solo show at the end of that time. Over the past few years Mr. Dunlap has had several one person shows in New York and Boston, and has taught painting and drawing in several locations on the east coast, including the Lyme Art Association, Mystic Arts Center, and Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. He currently maintains a studio in Eastern Connecticut.

To view more work, visit Hollis Dunlap’s artist page.

Download the Exhibition Catalog (PDF).