SHADOW / PLAY
November 6 – December 27, 2003
Woodward Gallery
Woodward Gallery is proud to announce a solo exhibition of new work by Charles Yoder. Shadow Play consists of fifty-five drawings in search of a painting.
In the Spring of this year Artist Charles Yoder embarked on an intensive exploration of light and shadow based on moonlit winter scenes. His materials were combinations of watercolor, gouache, India ink, charcoal, and conte” crayon on various papers. His goal was to find two images suitable for each side of a large folding floor screen. Over the course of Yoder’s experimentation the character of the drawings changed again and again. From dark to light and back again. From warm to cold. From soft to hard. These fifty-five works on paper document that activity. Yoder’s life size folding screen offers a rare opportunity to view his trees growing from another dimension.
Designed to the artist’s specifications the folding screen is a beautifully handcrafted work of black satin finished hardwood construction with fully articulating marine hinges of brushed aluminum. Consisting of four wooden panels and measuring 84 inches high by 108 inches long – it has a strong, sinuous presence. One side depicts a woodland scene of moonlit trees in dark blues, shimmering whites and hints of silver leaf in the night sky. The second side presents the sweeping arc of daylight edged in greens and bright yellows that surround an open field of intricate gold leaf work.
Charles Yoder is a strong believer in the ability of art to heal and comfort, both for the artist and the viewer. It is this feeling that led to the screen’s title- “Tavolette” takes its name from double-sided paintings popular in 15th and 16th century Italy that depicted the passions of Christ. These paintings were often carried in public religious ceremonies in the belief that they had the capacity to grant solace to those who saw them.
