SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
RENO, Nev. — Rooted in the watercolor tradition of European and American art, Timothy J. Clark’s paintings of quiet outdoor landscapes and indoor spaces capture light’s journey as it flows between inside and outside spaces, and 
between cause and effect. Expressive Luminescence: Watercolors by Timothy J. Clark, guest curated by art historian and professor Gene Cooper, surveys approximately 20 of Clark’s works at the Nevada Museum of Art December 18, 2010 to April 24, 2011.
Throughout European and American art history there have been artists who have explored light as it moves between interior and exterior spaces. From Jan Vermeer to Andrew Wyeth, select artists have analyzed the transforming effects of natural light as it animates inanimate architectural interiors. Clark vitalizes both ordinary and extraordinary architectural spaces with a dramatic force that transforms them into gentle metaphors.
Clark often begins with a quiet, comfortable subject like a domestic interior or an intimate woodworking shop, and through his use of formal light transforms it into an elegant symbol of a facet of middleclass life. In the spirit of American painter John Singer Sargent, Clark’s clear-eyed light streams inside through windows, archways, and doors. The weight and substance of materiality is replaced with an atmosphere that interjects a vital pulse into an otherwise lifeless interior. Clark sometimes selects early church interiors that are animated with exotic lighting effects, especially those that contain a mix of flickering candle light and a luminous glow resonating from gold-leafed altars. Like Rembrandt, his dramatic light penetrates the rich darkness of the interior core evoking a sense of mysterious presence.
Clark’s works have been acquired by many private and public institutions, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Butler Institute of American Art, and the Farnsworth Art Museum. Since 1994 he has taught at the Art Students League in New York, and he often lectures at such institutions as the Worcester Museum of art, the National Academy School of Fine Arts, and the Yale University School of Architecture’s graduate summer workshop in Rome. Clark travels regularly between his homes in California and Maine, as well as trips to New York City and across Europe.
“Painting is a solitary profession,” says Timothy J. Clark. “For me, the contentment of the stony silence of the studio is wonderfully contrasted by the interpretations and personal responses of viewers and collectors, whose participation is pivotal in completing the creative process.”
EVENTS:
The artist will visit the Nevada Museum of Art to lead a special Meet the Artist Art Bite on Friday, January 28 at noon. Clark will discuss his work and inspiration in the exhibition Expressive Luminescence. Guests will also have a chance to work with Clark on Saturday January 29 during a special workshop at the Museum School. Students will view the exhibition and then sharpen their watercolor techniques while receiving valuable feedback from Clark, who is also a faculty member at the Art Students League in New York City and recognized by Watercolor magazine as one of the “20 Great Teachers in America”
ORGANIZATION:
Guest curator Gene Cooper lives in Laguna Beach, California. Currently Professor Emeritus at Cal State Long Beach, Mr. Cooper is known for his multiple exhibitions on California painter Wayne Thiebaud, including recent retrospective exhibitions at the Laguna Art Museum, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Denver Art Museum and Palm Springs Art Museum. His publishing credentials range from monographs and essays to contributions for ArtNews.
Expressive Luminescence: Watercolors by Timothy J. Clark will be exhibited December 18, 2010 through April 24, 2011at the Nevada Museum of Art, Donald W. Reynolds Center for the Visual Arts, E. L. Wiegand Gallery located at 160 West Liberty Street in downtown Reno. The Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. Cost: Museum members free; $10 adults; $8 students/seniors; $1 children 6 – 12; free for children five and under. For more information, please call 775.329.3333 or visit www.nevadaart.org.
