Gay M. Arthur will exhibit her new body of work titled “Going Within…and One Last Glimpse” at In-Town Gallery for the entire month of September. After years of portraying the exterior of architectural structures, the artist is asking the viewer to ‘look within’ both literally and figuratively. And, as the second part of the title suggests, also invited to take one last look at buildings that are slated for demolition. Meet the artist at the opening reception for this featured exhibit on Friday, September 2, from 5 pm to 8 pm in the gallery.

“Outside and inside form a dialectic of division, the obvious geometry of which blinds us as soon as we bring it into play in metaphorical domains.” Gaston Bachelard

Which is more vast? Exterior space or interior space?

Going within, or ‘inside’, in its intimacy, pushes one into limitless space of imagination, secrecy, opportunity and growth. The artist asks the viewer to ponder this possibility while stepping into her work - the Peerless Mill, Barnsley Gardens, Ft. McClellan (Anniston, AL) and a pre-Civil War cabin, The Redding House in Wildwood.

The last glimpses will be of US Pipe, the Peerless Mill, a chapel at Ft. McClellan, and Chamberlain Field House, UTC.

Gay Arthur’s paintings have preserved images of historic sites in the Chattanooga area since she graduated from UTC in 2003. She has shown work at Shuptrine’s Gallery and AVA as well as having pieces juried into the Dogwood Festival in Knoxville, Rome Art Gallery in Rome, GA, and The Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art in Augusta. Honorable mentions were awarded for the second two events. One of the Wheland Foundry series was selected for the permanent collection at the United Way Building in Chattanooga.

The artist says, “Although my style is still representational I feel as though I have become looser and a bit more edgy in my artwork. Intersecting geometrical planes, texture, light, and shadow still play a large role in my work as well.”