December 2005
Henry Link at Raleigh Contemporary
Gallery
 Fifty
Plus is a Triangle wide publication, and
I make an effort to cover the major galleries
and museums in Orange, Durham, and Wake
counties. One gallery that has been overlooked,
much to my regret, is the Raleigh Contemporary
Gallery, located at 323 Blake Street, in
downtown Raleigh. I don’t know about
you, but the name contemporary translates
in my mind to modern and generally abstract
artwork. This is not the case at this gallery.
Owner Rory Parnell has collected a strong
group of 20th century artists (thus the
word contemporary) that work in traditional
as well as non-representational styles.
National and regional artists display a
variety of mediums including painting, lithographs,
fiber, sculpture, and glass.
Raleigh Contemporary gallery presents six
exhibitions annually. The current featured
artist is Greensboro resident Henry Link.
Mr. Link is regarded as one of the top ten
landscape artists in the state. “From
mountaintop vistas to eastern North Carolina
farmlands, Henry’s paintings covey
the beauty and vitality of North Carolina’s
landscapes,” says Ms. Parnell.
 Technically
proficient in terms of perspective, proportion,
color and balance, his technique is what
make’s his paintings immediately recognizable.
Link does not blend his colors together,
but rather paints tone upon tone using fairly
large brush strokes. In some areas, the
difference in color values is so subtle
that it allows the viewer’s eye to
visually blend the colors together, giving
dimension to his subject matter. In other
areas of the painting, the tones are quite
different: the value and color contrasts
achieve dramatic lighting effects that make
a nice juxtaposition with the relatively
simple shapes.
Henry Link received his BA and MFA from
the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
He taught at the University for a number
of years as well as at the Sawtooth Center
for Visual Art in Winston-Salem. He was
also curator at the Greenhill Center for
North Carolina Art from 1992-2000.
He now devotes himself to painting full
time at his Greensboro studio.
Many of Link’s painting are in corporate
collections including Duke University Medical
Center, Bank of America and Wachovia Bank,
American Express, and the Nabisco Company.
In spite of his notoriety, Link’s
paintings are attractively priced for many
art collectors.
Henry Link will be on display through December.
For more information you can call the Gallery
at 919.828.6500 or online at www.rcgallery.com |
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