Fine Art Exhibits
Airport staff is working with a committee of area professionals to showcase the artistic talent of the region. Exhibits rotate quarterly and include work by members of the Springfield Regional Arts Council, students of Springfield Public Schools, and faculty and students from Missouri State University and Drury University.
The map on the right indicates display areas. The airport terminal is open 24 hours and visitors can park free in the short term lot for 30 minutes.
Artists interested in exhibiting work at Springfield-Branson National Airport should contact Stephanie Cramer at the Springfield Regional Arts Council by phone at 417.862.2787 or via email at stephanie@springfieldarts.org.
In addition to the artists featured below, the show includes works by:
Kat Allie, Brian Condon, Teresa Dilsaver, Amber Dougan, Dee Giles, Deby Gilley, Becky Golubski, Jane Huggins, Emily McGee, Ann Meese, Susan Neese, Marla Parnell, Hue Parnell, Janelle Patterson, John Payne, Teri Pearman, Karen Schneider, Kathleen Self, Paula St. James, Linda Teeter, Sharon Warren
Kate Baird
"Level Five"
"Forest"
The ability to assess danger is one of the most basic human skills, but the ability to ignore danger is only slightly less significant. When threats are complex and abstract (climate change, political dysfunction) rather than immediate (the tiger about to pounce, the oncoming bus), an appropriate response can be hard to find.
This group of paintings reflects my growing awareness that threats which appear to be elsewhere may actually be close at hand and the necessity of finding a way of thinking about that which doesn't lead to paralysis. The uptick of many kinds of instability in the world and being the parent of a young child cause me to consider safety/danger more frequently and intensely than I used to. These concerns superimpose themselves on the questions I have always explored in my paintings: What are the structures- natural, architectural, psychological- that place us in the world? How do I find my way?
Elizabeth Chapman
"Quantum"
"Rhapsody"
I am an expressionistic abstract artist. I work intuitively with one mark leading to the next, experimenting and playing with various materials, tools, techniques and the elements of line, color, shape, space and texture paying careful attention to creating bold and dynamic compositions.
Occasionally, I find myself working realistically as well. This work might be classified as being more of a blended style of impressionism and realism capturing the essence of the subject. In whatever style I find myself working in, good composition and design are very important to me.
Color, movement and texture are dominant elements that can be found in my work. Creating is an expression, a language, a way of speaking to you.... uniquely and originally. I hope that you find a work that speaks personally to you!!
Stephanie Cramer
"Journey"
"Bittersweet"
I see the painter as analogous to an actor/director bringing the viewer along to new places, memories, dreams, and family histories. I like to give the viewer space to interpret what they see on the canvas.
Center stage in my art is the figure - an object in motion, as if the figure is caught, just for an instant; a glimpse, a snapshot before the gesture is complete. I'm not in search of exact representation. I'm intent rather on provoking a sense of tension or intensity. These plus color, bring the emotion to the painting. Whether spatial or expressionistic, the implied relationship between figures is intended to arouse curiosity.
Painting is like a freeze frame. It helps both the viewer and the painter to pause - if just for a second as we enter into that two dimensional space. Most of the time the stage is imaginary or based on dreams and memories. Like Alice, the viewer is invited to step into the drama or the wonderland inside the looking glass.
Alicia Farris
"Walkers"
"Big world, Big Dreams"
Art provides the opportunity to capture and share the spirit and personality of a subject, whether animate or not. I like to isolate what seams common and recreate it in a different light, all the while, creating a source of emotion and cause for reflection for the viewer.
In my travels and at home, the flavors of people I have encountered definitely inspire my work. I am also lucky to have the beauty of the Ozarks as subject matter, any time I wish!
Mary Hamilton
"untitled (Heer's facade)"
"Last Snow"
The artworks shown in this exhibit represent my personal interest in Springfield’s ever-changing downtown cityscape. I begin my compositions using my own photographic images as I love to capture the views of downtown and the city square without people or movement while focusing on its unique architectural properties. The stark lines and shapes become simplified yet representational with an enhanced use of perspective to give the viewer a sense of depth and metaphoric quiet. I try to give the buildings the illusion of form through a slight change of values and the use of space as more of a rhythmic design to break the silence. The subject matter of most of my own designs usually comes from real places that I have been and I try to impose my own ideas or feelings on the subject by making subtle changes in the elements or viewpoint. As I develop some of the city designs, they may become more abstract or completely without subject matter.
My belief is that a true “work of art” is a combination of many things—aesthetic beauty, craftsmanship, compositional balance and statement. For me, painting is more than just working on pictorial space—it is a long process of creation that represents a visual story that, hopefully, makes some connection to the viewer.
James C. Heck
"American Totem"
"Mourning the Muse"
Art for me is the imperfect representation of life and nature as experienced by the artist. Whether depicting good or evil, truth or fiction, beauty or whimsy, it is my intention to soften the edges of my presentation so as to encourage the observer to become emotionally involved through sight and touch.
AMERICAN TOTEM uses Indiana limestone to represent a modern day icon, in stark contrast to the coarse stone of the early Mesoamerican symbol or totem. Who it portrays is not important. That it is slick and shiny is!
MOURNING THE MUSE is a three-element piece created in Kansas limestone depicting a relationship between members of a community and a principle influence, recently departed.
Carla Stine
"Tenuous Grasp"
"Garden Variety"
The work you see here represents my quest to make sense of love, life, and the finitude inherent in both. While much of my work is light-hearted and whimsical, there is always an undercurrent of delicate tenuousness, vulnerability, and a sense of the preciousness of the momentary beauty that will disappear, never to reappear. This journey has taken many twists and turns, some surprising, others saddening, and despite the challenge, or perhaps because of the challenge, I find that simply being true to myself continuously reveals a strength I didn’t know I possessed. I have never regretted being true to myself. I have come to believe that there is a moral obligation one has to be true to oneself, and this truth will have a ripple effect, so that this obligation affects others as well. I desire personal growth despite the fear I have that it will demand some relinquishment on my part, as it surely will. But nature abhors a vacuum, so where something is given up, there will be something else to fill it. I have found that the rewards of confronting these parts that must be sacrificed are freedom, peace and wisdom. In those moments when every step is crucial and demanding, I often recall the ending words of Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”: “the woods are lovely, dark and deep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep”. I have learned to appreciate the dark and deep places, to befriend and embrace it , and even nurture it, to understand that it informs my awareness of myself and the struggles of all humanity, and without it I would never question the reality of my being or my destiny.
Jane Troup
"Landscape with Pond"
"Landscape with Fire"
LANDSCAPE WITH POND
The pond is one of my favorite subjects and the form of water that I come to again & again. It is not that I like ponds over the ocean or streams but that the pond represents something symbolically to me. In the visual language of painting one cannot always describe the “meaning” of the image in words. So, I don’t know and maybe it’s not appropriate to analyze the meaning of the pond, but it is important in a wonderfully mysterious way. Painting brings my hidden world into this one.
LANDSCAPE WITH FIRE
Out in the world I am curious. When I come upon something new or strange I stop and study it to try to find its meaning. Strange juxtapositions cause me to access my powers of observation. I would come to this painting and wonder what it might mean. It would not be entirely familiar, but what would it be?
Sharon Warren
"Life Force"
"Passion"
I am self taught but owe much thanks to so many wonderful artist friends who share and encourage each other. I am greatly influenced by artists Mary Whyte, Bev Jozwaik, Pat Weaver, Sally Cooper, Nita Leland, and Carol Frye.
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Art Exhibits