Peg Orcutt reception

media release: Shifting Ground

OPENING RECEPTION: 5 p.m. on Friday, April 10

ON DISPLAY: April 3-26

Carnelian Art Gallery, located at 221 King St., Suite 102, in downtown Madison, is pleased to announce its second art exhibition of the year, titled "Shifting Ground.”

This is a solo exhibition with works by Madison artist Peg Orcutt. Orcutt creates visceral, large-scale landscapes, often representations of sky, water, forest, and fiery scenes, that invite onlookers to become “immersed in each image and explore the possibilities of that particular space,” she says.

The exhibition’s title, “Shifting Ground,” represents the continuous evolution of Orcutt’s own artistic process, and shines a lens on emergent issues related to global warming, as well as the current political zeitgeist.

Shifting Ground is slated to kick off with an opening reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 10, and is to be on display from Friday, April 3, until Sunday, April 26.

As always at Carnelian Art Gallery, admission on opening night is free, and light refreshments will be served. At 6 p.m. on opening night, Orcutt will deliver an artist talk about the works she created for Shifting Ground, as well as her general comeuppance as an artist.

“Showing at Madison’s hottest new gallery is a thrill,” says Orcutt. “Evan Bradbury has been involved in the Madison art scene for many years, but his new space is the best yet. Working with Emilie Heilemann has really added to his commitment to showing terrific art. I am delighted to join the ranks of both established and lesser known artists at Carnelian."

Orcutt is originally from Chicago, Illinois. For her undergraduate degree, Orcutt studied studio art and art history at Wellesley College, located in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Orcutt then studied at the University of Illinois in Chicago to obtain her graduate degree in fine arts.

She taught drawing at Sage College of Albany in upstate New York for “many years” before moving to the Madison area with her husband, who is an electrical engineer. The duo enjoy cross country skiing in the wintertime when there’s free-time, Orcutt says.

“It is such a privilege to work with Orcutt on an exhibition at Carnelian Art Gallery” says Emilie Heidemann, Carnelian Art Gallery marketing director. “Her works exude deep purpose and soul.”

“The gallery is beyond thrilled to showcase Orcutt’s talent,” says Evan Bradbury, Carnelian Art Gallery owner and head curator. “If you want to feel something real, this is an exhibition I highly recommend checking out. Please join us for opening night on Friday, April 10. Everyone is welcome.”