Press Release

FLORA: Paintings by Janet Alling

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Exhibition at Newport Art Museum, June 19 - August 18, 2010
Reception: June 18, 5 - 7 pm

NEWPORT, RI: Janet Alling believes it was her destiny to paint plants and flowers. For over 40 years she has chipped away at traditional hierarchies of subject matter by giving botanicals the same prominence and credibility as figure paintings and landscapes. An upcoming exhibition at the Newport Art Museum, "Flora: Paintings by Janet Alling," reaches back to the 1960s and follows Alling's development through the early 2000s as she engages with formal visual ideas, color, light, composition, scale and the phenomena of the natural world. "Flora" opens on June 19 and runs through August 18, 2010. The Museum hosts a reception for its summer exhibitions on Friday, June 18, 5 - 7 pm. The reception is free for Museum members; $10 for non-members.

This exhibition of exquisite floral paintings includes examples of Alling's early, tentative, but carefully observed watercolors of single red roses; voluptuous large scale portrayals of begonias, zinnias and irises; and emotive, highly charged tulip paintings from her 2004 series, The Seven Deadly Sins. Painting first in watercolors and then in oils, Alling has consistently painted from direct observation of plants in natural light, creating magnified forms on a large scale.

In an essay for Alling's book Flora: Paintings by Janet Alling, Newport Art Museum Curator Nancy Whipple Grinnell writes, "As a curator, in this season I look for an artist with a Rhode Island presence who can fill our huge Ilgenfritz Gallery to overflowing with exuberant and outstanding artwork - an exhibition that will enhance the grandeur and beauty of our historically significant buildings and grounds...The city of Newport is known for its showy gardens and its "secret" gardens; both of these characteristics are at work in the luscious flower paintings of Janet Alling."

Alling studied at the Yale School of Art & Architecture during the 1960s when Abstract Expressionism was king and her instructors Alex Katz, Neil Welliver and Philip Pearlstein painted figure. Katz writes of Alling's work, "Janet Alling's flowers are pure New England. They are civilized and isolated. They are decorous, contained, and make no overture to fashion. The mystery of meaning reminds me of Emily Dickinson. The paintings are straight forward and impenetrable."

Alling's first one-woman show at 55 Mercer in 1972 was enthusiastically reviewed by Peter Schjeldahl, in the Sunday New York Times, Roberta Smith in Art News, and others who identified Alling as a painter to watch among the generation of realist painters working in large scale perception of reality.

Born and raised in New York City, Alling now lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island. Publication of Alling's new book, Flora: Paintings by Janet Alling, (Beaufort Books), coincides with the exhibition and will be available for sale at the Museum.

The Newport Art Museum's art school, the Coleman Center for Creative Studies, is offering "Still Life Floral Painting" with Jessica Pisano, July 9 - 30. The four-part course is planned to coincide with "Flora: Paintings by Janet Alling" and is one of more than 80 classes, camps and workshops being offered this summer for adults, teens and children. For details or to register visit www.NewportArtMuseum.org, call (401) 848-2787 or drop by the Coleman Center, part of the Museum's three-building campus at 76 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Monday - Friday 11 am - 3 pm.

About the Newport Art Museum: The Newport Art Museum's collections and exhibitions focus on the visual artists of Newport and southeastern New England, reflecting both the rich heritage of the past and the lively art scene of the present. The Museum also offers art classes and camps, concerts, talks, trips, and special events throughout the year. The Newport Art Museum is fully accredited by the American Association of Museums and receives support from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. The Newport Art Museum is situated in Newport's Old Quarter at 76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island. Admission: $10 adults; $8 seniors; $6 Military and students with valid ID; Museum members and children under 5: no charge. By donation Saturday from 10 am to noon. Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm, Sun 12 - 5 pm. Open most major holiday Mondays. Check website for details. To learn more visit www.NewportArtMuseum.org or call (401) 848-8200.

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