ARTIST TO WATCH
Caroline Tavelli-Abar
“Abstract work is not uncommon. What is uncommon is someone who is able, in spite of such a strong history and tradition of abstract work, to create her own language and keep creating abstract work that is fresh, new and beautiful,” writes 2018 Artist to Watch Guest Curator Stephanie Walker about Rochester artist Caroline Tavelli-Abar. The artist describes her themes as “freedom, taking flight, sailing, motion, movement, water, emotion and energy.”
“Artists to Watch 2018” is a survey of contemporary Vermont artists that appears as special features in Vermont Art Guide #6 and #7 and in a two-part exhibition at the Vermont Arts Council.
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The effect is a multidimensional work with sophisticated color and a dynamic sense of motion. And still, the ample white space makes the painting feel light and airy.
Tavelli-Abar started creating watercolors on folded paper in 2011 and as the years passed, her work has developed, evolved, and increased in size. Her 2017 work explored curbed line, sphere, and the parabolic created when the two mix, mingle, and overlap. A soft blue bar feels like water in Breath in, Sail. Grey arcs ripple in a cacophony of lines and when they intersect spaces are formed. Some of these spaces become fields of color: goldenrod yellow, pinkish crimson, soft green, deep blue. The total effect is a multidimensional work with sophisticated color and a dynamic sense of motion. And still, the ample white space makes the painting feel light and airy.
Originally from the Valais region in the Swiss Alps, Caroline Tavelli-Abar moved to the U.S. in 1990 to explore her maternal roots. She earned a BA in Liberal Arts from Norwich University and Vermont College, during which time she also attended the drawing marathon at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. After living in New York City for a time, she now calls Rochester, Vermont home and is deeply immersed in her creative work. Learn more about Tavelli-Abar’s work at www.carolinetavelli-abar.com.
“Artists to Watch 2018” is a survey of contemporary Vermont artists that appears as special features in Vermont Art Guide #6 and #7 and in a two-part exhibition at the Vermont Arts Council.
ABOUT ARTISTS TO WATCH | GET THE MAGAZINE | EXHIBITION DETAILS
Each issue of Vermont Art Guide has over a hundred places to see art around the state. The full-color, printed magazine has artist and venue profiles as well as articles and news about Vermont Art. Our goal is to document and share the state’s incredible art scene. SUBSCRIBE TODAY
Images by Caroline Tavelli-Abar (top to bottom):
Night Flight (appox. 34″x42.5″ (unframed); inks and paint on paper; 2017)
Breath In, Sail (approx. 27″x42″; ink and paints on paper; 2017)
All images courtesy of the artist.