Joseph Gallivan interviews Phil Sylvester about his drawing show "Countenance" at Gallery 114

 
On Tuesday February 16, 2016 on Art Focus, Joseph Gallivan interviews Phil Sylvester, an artist who draws. Sylvester uses pencil on paper, while barely looking at the paper.  He will talk about the influence of Cezanne, Giacometti, Auerbach and Michelangelo on his art, and how he tries to capture the shape and volume of a person by not fixing on any one point.
 
Sylvester’s show “Countenance” at Gallery 114 runs through February 28. 
  
From the press release:
 
Gallery 114 Presents "Countenance"
Phil Sylvester and David Slader
 
 "Countenance" at Gallery 114 in February showcases the work of two Portland artists, PhilSylvester and David Slader, both of whom focus intensely on the human face--and, through it, delve into their own deeply personal experiences. The exhibit runs February 4-27, with a First Thursday opening reception for the artists February 4, 6-9 pm.  Gallery hours are noon to 6 pm Thursday through Sunday and 3 to 9 pm First Thursday.



Phil Sylvester:  The Curtain Reopens of the Work of an Oregon Master

This is Phil Sylvester's first gallery show in seventeen years.  Sylvester turned away from exhibiting in 1999, feeling a need to let his painting and drawing evolve in private, free of external expectations.  He has continued to teach, in his own highly distinctive way, at The Drawing Studio.  His international reputation has grown as a maker of extraordinary art-guitars, each one a unique sculptural and musical creation.  This body of work has been featured on OPB's "Oregon Art Beat."
 
All the while, Sylvester has been creating hundreds of drawings, many of a particular close friend.  Over time, a small group of drawings emerged--mostly drawn "blind--that renewed Sylvester's desire to share his work with the public.  Of his work, Sylvester says,  "I primarily draw blind, glancing from time to time as I move back and forth between legibility and ambiguity, all the while engaging and observing my model and friend."  When a former student, David Slader, invited Sylvester to show alongside him at Gallery 114, the timing was right.  After a long hiatus, the curtain will reopen on the work of this Oregon master.



Phil Sylvester has previously been represented by Mark Woolley Gallery and Quartersaw Gallery.