Abstract Expressionism Painter
Meghan Oare meghanoare.com
*intro by Craig Berger
May 10th 2015
Meghan Oare meghanoare.com
*intro by Craig Berger
May 10th 2015
Planes. Trains.
Photo shutter snaps. The frigid
rain. Spilled wine. A wilted flower. Hot Coffee.
A female form in flight. Crowded
streets. An honest conversation. Mountain peaks. Hard sculpted bodies. Fallen trees.
That perfect song. Unspoken
words. Cracked wooden walls. Candle flickers. Creaky pipes.
A splattered apron. What’s next?
Meghan Oare has learned to harness these caprices of passion and motion of life into her art as an inspired young painter whose brush strokes extend far beyond the canvas.
Meghan Oare has learned to harness these caprices of passion and motion of life into her art as an inspired young painter whose brush strokes extend far beyond the canvas.
BHM: How did you become a painter?
Meghan: Since I was young I was drawn to the creative process and enjoyed drawing cartoon characters. During my freshman year of college, I was caught in the common dilemma of choosing a "responsible" major or surrendering my passion. An obligatory elective class was painting. Then and there I decided that I must focus on my art.
While attending college, I was able to participate in a study abroad program where I became entranced by other cultures and seduced by languages. It led me to teaching English as a second language (ESL) at an international college. When I studied in Germany, I was introduced to abstract expressionism, which had greatly influenced and inspired my work and art philosophy. I have coordinate art events and gallery exhibitions over the last twelve years that were sometimes accompanied by musicians. I have also utilized the media to promote the exhibitions as well as to expose my art to a wider audience.
Abstract Expressionism by German artist Gerhard Richter Atelier 1985 (top left); and Americans: Jackson Pollock White Light 1954 (right) and Lee Krasner The Seasons 1957 (bottom left).
BHM: What were the challenges breaking into
the NYC gallery scene?
Meghan: My first show in Chelsea was at Agora
Gallery. It did not prove to be a
pleasant experience. The gallery owner
wasn't very invested in the artists. I
visited the gallery before the show and introduced myself to the owner. On the night of the exhibit, she was unaware
I was one of the artists showcasing that night.
It was insulting and yet eye opening to the reality of the Chelsea art
galleries. It did lead to other
invitations to exhibit in Chelsea, but I was already prejudiced towards the
sometimes superficial façade of NYC.
However, it is like any other industry, which entails pros and
cons. Learning to navigate these
obstacles could result in success or failure.
It is
most important to connect with your audience and ultimately satisfying when
they can connect to your work. Art
clichés such as pompous, narcissistic, and vainglory types do exist along with
your occasional creepy characters, but the entire industry isn’t consumed by
them.
It is
challenging being a female artist seeking to promote her work and obtain
sponsorship without sending the wrong signals.
One of my personal experiences had involved a sponsor who offered
significant financial backing in exchange for a romantic relationship. I, personally, am not willing to compromise
my morals for money.
An
ideal situation would be to locate sponsors who support art and are willing to
help you progress. Having an agent could
help the artist progress after they have reached a certain level of exposure,
but it isn’t necessary when just starting.
IT may relieve the artist of additional responsibilities of organizing
exhibitions so they can focus on their creative process.
For
over ten years, I have exhibited my work in many different venues in NYC,
Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
I have been invited to exhibit internationally in such places as France,
Spain, Poland, Italy, and Malaysia. I
have not followed through with the exhibits due to the costs of shipping and
prepaid teaching of paintings I haven’t yet sold. However, I was fortunate to exhibit in the
final art show held at the Chelsea Hotel before it closed. My work was also shown at the National
Gallery in NYC with Swipe (www.swipemagazine.com), the Carnegie Museum of
Art in Pittsburgh, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
Since
not all galleries and venues are the same, there are challenges to displaying
with each. Depending on the venue, it
may take several hours to hang a show. I
always make sure to have extra supplies to adapt to any situation. I’ve had to get creative in some cases by
stringing wire over beams to hang the work.
I never lay my paintings on the table or chairs because presentation is
everything.
When
presenting my work, I display my paintings in relation to one another depending
on their color scheme and energy level.
It is good to consider surface textures, symmetry, dimensions of the
work and lighting.
I
recently exhibited at Klimat Lounge located in the East Village (www.klimatlounge.com). They
truly appreciate and support their artists and have different artists
displaying their work every month. The
venue is a unique place, which has been handcrafted and built by its
owner. He used recycled wood and built
the entire bar as well as the furnishings.
I will be exhibiting
at Klimat again this June. Come out and meet me at the reception on June 11th from 7 to 10pm! Please visit my website for
details. www.meghanoare.com
BHM: What is your creative process?
Meghan: My Work is intuitive and emotionally influenced. I very rarely sketch my ideas. I usually execute the image from my head and build from there. The pieces will sometimes morph and stray from the original idea as I tend to work on multiple paintings at the same time.
There is an editing process such as there is for writers.
My work is created for the viewer's interpretation, but I do not create the work with the audience in mind. I do, however, want my audience to connect with my work. It allows them to connect to me. The viewer perceives my work by associating it with their own personal experiences.
Materials used in my work include flowers, glass, coffee, and wine amongst other unorthodox objects. These objects add texture and fomenting depth to my paintings. In one of my works, I received flowers as a gift, so I dried and immortalized them in a painting. The flowers are recycled and become a tribute to the giver.
Some other interests of mine are fitness, dance and traveling. Physical conditioning clears my mind and traveling to learn about new cultures and places inspired my work. I enjoy dance since it is another form of art and self-expression.
BHM: How do you stay inspired, network& promote?
Meghan: All of my work is created in my apartment. It is convenient and a comfortable environment where I can create any time of day. Interacting with other cultures and being exposed to languages broadens my perspective which pushes my work to evolve as well as myself. I also experiment with other creative projects such as photography and making clothing. These experiments lead to revelations and new approaches to executing my work.
Promoting your work is work. I have a website and publicize my exhibits using newspaper, social media, and card invitations. I am always looking for new venues to showcase my work and try to get involved in many art projects related to art philosophy.
In the past, I have created interactive and entertaining shows where I had collaborated with musicians and involved other artists in my events. The events were a lot of work that I solely organized and have had to step away from for the moment. In addition, some musicians and artists involved were not very appreciative or considerate which became discouraging and a waste of valuable time I need to focus on my own work.
BHM: What are some examples of your work?