Callen McJunkin Gallery

Charleston, WV Friday, Nov. 20th 5:30 - 7:30 pm, Callen McJunkin Gallery will hold an opening reception for All Seasons, Recent Landscape Paintings by Ron Boehmer of Lynchburg VA.

Ron Boehmer's landscape paintings convincingly portray the familiar surroundings of our region. The subjects of his paintings, whether a farm, byway, river bed, open meadow or interior woodland, are never romanticized, but rendered with sensitivity and honesty. Boehmer transforms linen canvases into contemplative moments that like their subjects, merit repeated visits.  

Boehmer is a Graduate of the MFA program at Pennsylvania University, where he studied under Neil Welliver, the 20th century's noted dean of American landscape painting, as well as Figurative artist Paul Georges.

Evident in Boehmer's work is the synthesis of vast and diverse influences. 19th century landscape painters, such as Caspar David Friedrich, and Hudson River School artists like Albert Bierdstadt come to mind as well as Impressionists such as Theodore Robinson and Claude Monet.  The tradition of capturing the spirituality and grandeur of nature that characterizes the Hudson River School artists, is palpable in Boehmer's work. And like Monet, Boehmer is interested in conveying multiple studies of his subjects under different conditions. Vermeer's sense of light and painterly control, Breugel's playfulness with perception in his compositions, Cezanne's interest in referencing 3-dimensional form through integrity of brush and color notation, and the abstract expressionists' concern for the act of painting as statement and substance are all inspirational forces for Boehmer.

Boehmer also cites music and literature as contributing to his approach. For example, Boehmer visually imitates the improvisational nature of American Jazz; many of the titles of his paintings include the word "improv." Evidence of this is also visible in the staccato rhythms of Boehmer's brushstrokes, and the fragmented quality of his color application.

Boehmer's process is rooted in the tradition of plein-air, painting on-site, which also means working at a rapid pace, because of constantly changing conditions. The artist explains, "I seek to record a specific visual and 'feeling' response to the natural world; to light, to atmosphere." While Boehmer refers to his Plein-air paintings to create larger compositions, he describes this procedure as "dependent more on working from memory of the plein-air painting experience than direct blow-up of the smaller works."

Boehmer has taught painting in Virginia for more than 30 years and has exhibited extensively in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions. Boehmer has been awarded Best in show of at least 15 local regional and National Juried Exhibition. His paintings were included in "Myth, Memory and Imagination: Universal Themes in the Life and Culture of the South" a travelling exhibition that originated at McKissick Musuem, University of South Carolina. His works are in numerous private and corporate collections, including Hollins University, Nations Bank, The University of Delaware, University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia Medical Center, The Virginia Bar Association and the United States Embassy Saudi Arabia.
This exhibition will be on display until Dec. 24th Join us for the opening reception with the artist Friday, Nov. 20th 5:30 - 7:30 pm, and for Downtown ArtWALK Fri. Nov. 27th from 5-8 and Thu. Dec. 18th from 5-8.
Gallery Hours are Tue. - Sat. 11-5. Free parking is available, call 304.342.5647 or e-mail us at art@mcjunkingallery.com