Walnut Gallery unveils its latest exhibition, “Paintings and Drawings” by artist Carter Osterbind. The exhibition opens on First Friday, December 7 at 7 PM and will remain on display until January 25. The artist will be on-hand for an opening reception and gallery talk from 7 to 9 pm at Walnut Gallery in Downtown Gadsden. Admission is free and open to the public, though donations are encouraged. The show is made possible by support from Holiday Inn Express and Suites, The Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts, the Etowah County Tourism Board, and Downtown Gadsden, Inc. More information can be found online at walnutgallery.org.
Carter Osterbind didn’t set out to be a prolific painter and visual artist. “I have always had in an interest in art,” recounts Osterbind, “I originally obtained an English degree at Rhodes College but ended up earning art degrees at the University of Florida”. For Mr. Osterbind, the road to becoming a celebrated, regionally and internationally exhibited artist was anything but straightforward. “I joined the Navy for three years and got into photography as a collateral duty.
After I left the service, I was admitted to law school but, before I started, I enrolled in a few art courses.” Those few art courses would translate into a lifelong passion for art. Osterbind is an Emeritus Professor of Art at Jacksonville State University where he taught studio courses for 28 years. He has also dedicated much of his time to the Visual Arts Society in Anniston, a community group that helps the JSU Art department raise money for scholarships and new equipment. “I found that art was much bigger than I had originally thought. It was much more exciting so I decided to stick with it,” he said.
“Paintings and Drawings” represents a unique visual exploration that Carter Osterbind has continued in his work for the past ten years. He often features a common object or interior that repeats across the canvas, sometimes shifting in perspective, warping in form, or melting together with each iteration. By employing a blend of academic technique and surreal abstraction, the objects are simultaneously realistic and dream-like. “Carter’s work is hypnotic, in a way,” says Walnut Gallery Executive Director Mario Gallardo. “His use of vibrant colors and complicated patterns really draws you in. His subjects can be very complex, but also very inviting because of their familiarity.” Osterbind’s oils, watercolors, and drawings have appeared nationally in many juried shows as well as internationally in exchange exhibits in Poland and Russia. His latest exhibition was at the Pleiades Gallery in Chelsea, New York.