Corrigan Gallery is my favorite art gallery in Charleston SC. It’s owner, Lese Corrigan exhibits contemporary eclectic paintings, drawings, woodcuts, sculpture and pottery. Though the gallery is not huge, one needs to spend a lot of time in the space. There is art everywhere and fun little surprises pop up unexpectedly. The art is exhibited with sophistication.
Besides running her gallery, Lese paints, sketches and creates linocuts. Her work is representational but more expressionistic than realistic. Her textured, colorful canvasses express the energy of life. Her series called “Over the Edge” features birds posed on telephone wires. The birds are on the edge, performing a balancing act of nature’s adaptation to man’s creation. They are silhouettes in the sky, being close yet far away. The birds sit watching from a distance aware of the “earthly” actions of mankind. In these paintings, the birds are paired with the cable what connects them to the earth albeit indirectly.
The oil paintings below are full of color and texture. There is a light beyond the surfaces representing the “light within”.
Lese says: “black and white woodcuts provide a glimpse into my approach to form and my search for interesting lines that connote texture. They also maintain the more graphic imagery that is left behind with the color and texture of my paintings.”
Lese Corrigan has had multiple solo exhibits and awards. Visit her gallery to view more of her work and information.