FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: MAY 19, 2010

CONTACT:  Commissioner Tammy Hall – District 4 Commissioner

 (239) 533-2226 office

LEHIGH ACRES RESIDENT DISPLAYS ARTWORK IN COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE

FORT MYERS, FL — Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall is supporting local artists by giving them an opportunity to display their artwork in her Fort Myers office.

This month LeHigh Acres resident, Scott Guelcher, will be on display in Commissioner Hall’s downtown Fort Myers office until June 30, 2010.  Guelcher, originally from Harrisburg, PA is displaying a portion of his “People, Places, and Things” 2009 Series.  “Places” are works of art that represent buildings and monuments in Fort Myers and other U.S. cities.  The pieces are acrylics on canvas.  All artwork is for sale.  The public is welcome to view the artwork and learn more about the artist.  Please call 533-2226 to confirm office hours for viewing the artwork.

“The arts are an important part of the cultural and development of our community” says Commissioner Hall.  “I believe that government can play an important role in public awareness, developing the use of public spaces for display and interaction of art, and for the encouragement and commitment of continued financial support both public and private of all the arts.” 

Other local artists will be featured every four to six weeks.  Commissioner Hall’s office is on the first floor of the Old County Courthouse, 2120 Main Street in downtown Fort Myers.

Commissioner Hall is the recipient of the Angel of the Arts Award – Business Sponsor 2009.  She was elected to the Board of Lee County Commissioners in 2004 and re-elected in 2006.  Her district includes North Fort Myers and the central and northern portions of Cape Coral. For more information on this program, please contact Carmen Salomé, Executive Assistant, at 239-533-2226.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

SCOTT GUELCHER

Born: Harrisburg, PA    1977

Website: guelcherart.com            Email: guelscott@aol.com

“I paint random everyday objects that represent one of three themes: People, Places, or Things. My paintings allow the viewer to experience personal meaning which transforms the objects from ordinary to extraordinary.”

“The paintings juxtapose the obvious with the obscure” – Florida Weekly

Scott’s recent artistic achievements have included winning the 2008 Angels of the Arts Award for Best “New” Artist, being selected as one of ten artists from the State of Florida to attend the Mac: Model for Artists Career Development Workshop in St. Petersburg, Florida, and an invitation to a Marketing and Promoting your work workshop in Tequesta, Florida funded by a National Endowment of the arts grant through the Florida Department of Cultural Affairs and run by the Creative Capitol Foundation of New York City (a subsidy of the Andy Warhol Foundation that supports individual artists). He has also received an Arts and Culture Grant from the City of Fort Myers in 2008 and 2009. In addition to being an artist, he is currently the Education Director for the Lee County Alliance of the Arts. Scott was also the artist chair for Art Royale 2008, the signature fundraiser for the Lee County Alliance of the Arts in Fort Myers. He is always looking for new opportunities to educate and inspire the community through the arts. Scott promoted some global subjects during his span as an artist, specifically a solo exhibition titled “Bikinis and Bombs”. This show was about the testing of the hydrogen bomb by the United States government conducted in the Marshall Islands on Bikini Atoll. The show gained local and international recognition. His exhibitions, publications, and collections enrich the talent and education he has achieved. Scott will continue to draw on issues in the local community and global community as the inspiration for his artwork.

Scott’s current work is three series of paintings “People, Places, and Things”. “Places” are paintings or works of art that are of cities, towns, buildings, monuments, or just places in the United States of America. These paintings are all 36” X 36” square. The approach to these works I feel is very unique, the work is not your typical scenic paintings; instead they consist of objects painted on the canvas that make a composition that represent the themes I am working with. My concept is pretty simple in the fact that first I find a place that inspires me and research it fully by going to the location to photograph it and gathering information on the internet and on site, then produce the piece of art. The idea of objects I feel is a universal theme because they surround us all the time and may be important or mundane. Certain objects can remind us of places we have been, stayed, or currently live in, give us memories of sensations whether they are smells, sounds, visions, touch, or taste and I feel this is an ideal way for the viewer to connect or form a relationship with a certain place. A great example of this a baseball stadium whether as a child or an adult, what reminds the average person of this? A multitude of different things or objects including hot dogs, cracker jacks, baseballs, bats, grass, dirt, caps, and beverages. The boundaries are limitless. The messages in this work are concrete of where the place is, but I feel that the viewer will be able to take away much more by bringing their own personal experiences to the work. “Things” are paintings or works of art that are of everyday objects that represent a certain theme. “People” are paintings or works of art that use everyday objects to represent a certain person whether they are famous or the average citizen. These series of works takes on a few different movements in art including both Pop Art and Surrealism due to use of everyday objects and how they are not physically related but complete a theme. Therefore they become visually stimulating works of art.

*** “People, Places, and Things” is funded by the City of Fort Myers Arts and Culture Grant ***