Behind every mask there is a face, and behind that a story. – Marty Rubin
Photo by Shabaka James (www.shabaka5.com)
Visual artist, Andrea Revelle of Mahogany Windows, gave guests the opportunity to meet the artist behind the mask, when she was featured at the Piedmont Club Winter Open House in Winston-Salem N.C. during the Black and White Masquerade Art Show last month along with friend and fellow artist Delae C Noctra. Andrea, who enjoys capturing human life and emotions through color and texture, describes her personal style as “whimsical.” Some of her displayed pieces were Water Phoenix, Fantasy, and Love Your Art. However, of those paintings Andrea is most proud of her portrait of Frida Kahlo, an iconic Mexican painter. The piece was inspired by Andrea’s admiration for the artist. In fact, she paints and references Kahlo often.
Frida Kahlo by Mahogany Windows
“I consider her my favorite artist of all time,” Andrea explained. “I gravitated to her because she was a female artist of color and her art was off the wall. It was weird. To me, her art was like driving past a wreck and I couldn’t look away from it. She painted what she felt on the inside and that wasn’t always pretty, but she made you feel something. I want to make people feel that. I want them to think, ‘Okay, It’s nice, but what is she saying, how did she do that, what does it mean, and I want to know more.’”
In the most general sense an art exhibition or show is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items, but as an artist, art shows give Andrea a new prospective from the people.
“It means a lot to just give people my point of view without talking is refreshing,” she said. “Someone can look at my work and see how I felt. I love when someone says ‘I have to have a piece of your work’ and that’s a good feeling.”
At this past art show Andrea said a guest came up to her and said that he could tell when she painted she had music on. Andrea said, “I thought that was amazing because it was accurate.”
While some may believe the success of an art show is all about the pieces an artist sells, to Andrea every art show is a success: “Every art show is a success for me because I enjoy what I do, if I don’t sell a thing I’m still happy with my work, I don’t base success on sales but on feedback.”
Andrea received a lot of great feedback at the show and was even asked to have an annual art show at Piedmont Country Club, but most importantly she enjoyed making the art she presented. It is safe to say the Black and White Masquerade art show was a success.
To learn more about Andrea Revelle, visit www.mahoganywindowsart.com. For bookings or interview requests, email Jameka Whitten at jameka@jswmediagroup.com.
