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Dolby Chadwick Gallery

June 2 - July 3, 2011

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210 Post Street Suite 205 San Francisco, CA 94108
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Recent Paintings Shelley Hoyt, Berkeley Hills View, oil on panel, 48" x 52"
Dolby Chadwick Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings by Shelley Hoyt, on view from June 2 through July 2, 2011. Inspired by the 19th century Luminist tradition that featured serene landscapes and emphasized a play of light, Hoyt infuses her “wide angle” depictions of San Francisco Bay and the distant hills of Marin or Berkeley – depending on the artist’s vantage point – with a sense of tranquility. An attention to air and atmosphere is central to her process: vast skies dominate much of the composition while low mantles of fog dematerialize form and impart a tangible coolness. The effect of atmospheric distance produces soothing blue and violet tones that wash over the composition, dispelling any lingering disquiet. But rather than letting the viewer lose herself in the experience of the expansive scenery, the piercing repoussoir of sharply articulated tree branches and silhouetted foliage delivers the viewer back to the immediate moment. For this show, Hoyt revisits the same vast and ethereal compositions she has gained recognition for. A transplant of Montana, Hoyt had been living in the Bay Area for over ten years when she began painting scenes of the Bay. It was during these sessions, she explains, that “I discovered the spacious and expansive equivalents of Montana’s Big Sky that I so longed for.” In seeking to represent nature – her avowed goal – Hoyt’s attention to the natural world’s untold breadth has become a unifying element within her work. Shelley Hoyt was born in Billings, Montana and currently resides in Oakland, California. She earned a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Montana in 1972 and went on to pursue further study with Chester Arnold and Terry St. John. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the British Museum Library in London, the New York Public Library, and the San Francisco Public Library. This will be Hoyt’s third solo show at the Dolby Chadwick Gallery.