Doell West: Life in Color

The Gadsden Arts Center & Museum presents an exciting new exhibition, Doell West’s Hand-painted Furniture, opening June 3 through July 22, 2017 in the Munroe Family Community Gallery. West’s installation of intricately designed, brilliantly patterned hand-painted furniture pieces create a transformative environment where visitors become a part of the artwork.

Ms. West converts second-hand furniture into colorful and eclectic creations, giving them a new life. Her work in this style was born when the artist was commissioned to design a painted enclosure for a brass drain, leading to experimentation with mirrors, hand-blown eggs, and furniture. West prefers to work on reclaimed and neglected pieces, leading the viewer to rethink the value of discarded objects and instead see their potential beauty and utility.

Ms. West’s designs were first inspired by the colorful patterns found in “old world” donkey carts. The inspiration for each piece is guided by the piece of furniture’s lines and shape. One look at the complex, maze-like arrangement of forms stirs curiosity as to the amount of time West dedicates to each object. “It never fails—this question is always asked when someone views one of my pieces. The answer is quite simple: it takes as long as it takes!  Sometimes when I start working on a piece my ‘vision’ may take longer, but once I gain my motivation I become totally focused to finish.  I think of it as filling ‘negative space’.  As I create a design it will dictate what comes next to fill the space”.

Doell West’s Hand-painted furniture will be on view through July 22, 2017. Suggested exhibition admission is $5 (museum members and children free), with guided tours available for any group with a reservation by calling 627-5023. The Gadsden Arts Center and museum is located at 13 N. Madison Street, on the courthouse square in Quincy, Florida, just 25 minutes from downtown Tallahassee. Information can be found at www.gadsdenarts.org.