WSG Gallery exhibit artfully explores Michigan's water, dunes and (especially) skies
Karin Wagner Coron’s “Natural Landscapes” at the WSG Gallery finds this local landscape painter exploring the airier elements of the landscape genre with an imaginative passion that’s akin to seeing the world anew.
"Sky Journal" Oil on canvas painting by Karin Wagner Coron. On view in "Natural Landscapes" at WSG Gallery through February 21, 2010.
Image courtesy WSG Gallery.
Granted, some of Coron’s pieces in this compact 7-work exhibit are reasonably conventional landscape painting. But others constitute nothing less than a vivid cloud atlas.
It might seem questionable as to how far anyone could go with such a seemingly limited subject. But Coron hasn’t got this problem.
She says in her gallery statement, “As I began collecting images for this body of work, I investigated and explored the natural beauty and diverse geography of Michigan.
“It turned into a study of sand dunes, sky and water,” Coron adds. “Numerous road trips to the Upper Peninsula gave me the opportunity to create a journal of the distinct natural beauty of the region where I found myself focusing more on skies….”
You can therefore run Coron’s “Natural Landscapes” through the genre checklist: Sand, present; dunes, ready; and water, accounted for. All these magnificent landscape elements make their appearance in her work — there’s just a lot more sky.
And what skies they are. For Coron’s skyscapes are nothing less than spectacular.
Her oil on canvas “Wetmore Landing Hike,” “Grand Sable Dune,” “Superior Sunrise” and “Clearing” all feature dramatic Michigan landscapes at different times of the year. Yet the skies found in these paintings supplement rather than punctuate the compositions.
In particular, “Wetmore Landing Hike” and “Grand Sable Dune” reflect Coron’s favored tactic of painting a visual recession notable for its dramatic insight. These are superior artworks by any standard, but they're not the best here.
“Sky Journal” is a joyfully detailed chart highlighting 40 diminutive oil and oil pastel on paper cloud patterns — each with a studied emphasis on differing times of the four seasons. The small-scale skies in this series complement the whole by creating a checkerboard variation of land, water, and cloud ranging from dusk to dawn with bountiful winds informing each vividly realized composition.
"View of Dune and Lake Superior" oil on canvas painting by Karin Wagner Coron. On view in "Natural Landscapes" at WSG Gallery through February 21, 2010.
Image courtesy WSG Gallery.
Coron then expands on this theme with her oil on canvas “Sky and Dune Journal,” in which 9 larger canvases emphasize the spectacle to be found in each composition. The “Sky and Dune Journal” paintings deepen the emotional expression of each atmospheric occurrence.
But Coron easily tops herself with her exhilarating “View of Dune and Lake Superior” triptych, in which adjoining horizontal panels fasten on 3 bird’s-eye views of Lake Superior’s shoreline. Wielding her pigments in an imaginative array of blue modulations, Coron creates a view of spacious Great Lakes beauty that speaks volumes of Michigan’s splendor.
“Karin Wagner Coron: Natural Landscapes” continues through February 21 at WSG Gallery, 306 South Main Street. Gallery hours are noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; noon-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 734-761-2287.