On Thursday, Sept. 7, Augusta’s Sacred Heart Cultural Center hosted a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. to present paintings for purchase from June Klement and Alex Foltz to interested parties.
Located at 1301 Greene St., the center is dedicated to preserving and highlighting the work of local artists such as Foltz and Klement, who have each spent years mastering their craft.
Klement, a painter known for her contemporary impressionist work, said her paintings were created with a focus in translating the world’s natural lighting to canvas using bright colors. For some depictions, she traveled to Buford, Ga. and Paris in order to more accurately capture the essence of the scene.
“I’m always attracted to color and light, so that is a big factor in all my work,” she said. “A lot of it is inspired through travel, and nature itself … I just hope people get joy from looking at them.”
After taking a class on “plein air” painting at Augusta’s Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, a style where artists actively paint outdoors, Klement said she wanted to specialize in the unusual process, because it allowed her to fully experience her inspiration whilst trying to recreate it.
“I’m inspired by the plein air painting I do, because I study outside and bring it in and see aspects of it that I want to incorporate into a larger painting,” she said. “Any time you paint from life, you see things a lot differently than through the lens of a camera. The lens of the camera catches a lot of the detail, but doesn’t necessarily capture the color correctly or the shadows correctly.”
Despite having to face changing light levels as time passes and the occasional harsh winds, Klement said capturing the essence of an environment and interpreting it into a finished work makes it worth the struggle.
“There are times when you get bugs flying in your paint and things like that,” she said. “But it makes you paint and make decisions quickly, and you just see things more clearly.”
While Klement’s work focused on mostly landscapes and its natural components, Foltz, a contemporary realist artist living in Augusta, displayed pieces that featured an array of themes and subjects.
With a background in portraits, Foltz said he has always enjoyed creating a story and concept around faces and singular subjects.
“It’s something I connected with and it felt like shining a light on an individual, and a way to show who they are,” he said. “I think that’s something that has carried over into my more creative work.”
Unlike Klement, who hoped audiences walked away instilled with some joy, Foltz said there was no specific takeaway in mind for his paintings, but he wants every onlooker to individualize the art’s message for themselves.
“The ones that really stick around in my head are the ones that felt the best to paint,” he said. “But I like to leave the message up to them, so I try to keep the subject matter more ambiguous.”
His other paintings were inspired by quarantining during COVID-19, immigrants and other local landscapes.
“He’s young and cool, and a little bit more contemporary,” said Sacred Heart’s Executive Director Millie Huff. “So we thought it was a great way to get him exposure and kind of get a new audience for us as well.”
His particular favorites from the center’s collection included a scene from Phinizy Swamp and another which emphasized a decaying rose.
“It was inspired by a rose I got for my girlfriend … we kept it alive for as long as possible, but it did eventually die. Instead of throwing it out, I just let it die and dry out,” he said in regards to his wilting flower piece, which depicted a lone yellow rose. “I thought it was still very beautiful even though most people would have thrown it out by then. That was kind of the idea – here’s this thing that’s old, dead and most people would call it garbage, but I was still very attracted to how it looked and gave it meaning again.”
The Sacred Heart Cultural Center will be displaying these pieces from Sept. 8 to Oct. 27 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
“It’s a beautiful venue and I am just grateful for the opportunity to show my work,” said Klement.
To view the exhibit or learn more about it, visit: https://sacredheartaugusta.org
