April: “H20” & “The Essence of Ink”

The H2O Exhibit by Faye Earnest and Tom Telhiard is an abstraction of aerial views of water:  Above the Water, Ocean Layers, and Seventy-One Percent.  As the exploration continued, the view became closer and closer to the Earth.

Faye Earnest enjoys bold color with exotic textures.  From her first landscapes to her examinations of geological formations, her aerial views have continued to evolve.  Her work is collected nationally and internationally. Painting for over 30 years, she creates innovative views of our planet.  With three degrees in art, University of Alabama, University of South Alabama, and University of Southern Mississippi, her work has been exhibited in New York, Germany, Greece, St. Thomas, Las Vegas, Miami, Santa Fe, Taos, Dallas, Asheville, Chicago, and New Orleans.

Tom Telhiard, BFA, MFA is a graduate of the University of South Alabama with a bachelor’s in fine art and went on to complete a master’s in fine art with Honors at Cranbrook Academy of Art, located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where his work remains today in the Cranbrook Museum permanent collection. Upon completing his degree at Cranbrook he served as full time faculty at Bishop State Community College, adjunct faculty at Faulkner University, Montgomery Alabama. During his faculty tenure at Bishop State, he completed cultural exchanges, through the department of education Fulbright program, studying art in Belgium and the Netherlands.  He then entered a faculty exchange position for one year in Newcastle, England. Upon his return from England, he completed a public art commission for the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, the Dunes. Other significant Kinetic commissioned pieces were a mobile at the Riverview Plaza, the Aeolus at the Mobile Regional Airport, the Cantilever at the original Exploreum Museum, and the Wind Waltz, remains on the Alabama Sculpture Trail in Langan Park for the Mobile Museum of Art.  He also had solo exhibitions of his paintings where a piece remains in the permanent collection at the Montgomery Museum of Art.  He completed numerous other pieces in public and private collections along the Gulf Coast. Tom’s work is an exploration of the interplay between water, light and color, particularly through the lens of abstract seascapes. Using oil paint and glazes, he creates layers that evoke depth and luminosity, allowing the color to mirror the fluidity of the sea and sky. This series is inspired by growing up on the Gulf Coast and Tom’s world travels. His goal is to inspire reflection and to encourage a deeper understanding of the world we inhabit.

The Shibui Chapter of the Sumi-e Society of America presents The Essence of Ink . Dedicated to the tradition of Asian brush painting, the society, founded in 1985, fosters the study and practice of Sumi-e, a centuries-old technique that emphasizes simplicity, fluidity, and expressive brushwork. Meeting twice a month in Mobile, AL, members explore the delicate balance of ink and water to capture nature’s essence in its most distilled form.

These exhibitions will be on display in MAC’s Gallery @ Room 1927 through April 2025. The gallery is open Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please contact Sydney Cramer at scramer@mobilearts.org for more information.