CCAC artist to exhibit ‘Moments of Wonder’

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

“Moments of Wonder” will be the theme as the Charles City Arts Center kicks off its 2019 season of featured artists with an exhibit of paintings and mixed media work by artist Autumn Rozario Hall.

“I’m trying to create a scene or moment that inspires a sense of wonder,” Hall said of her art. “I’m trying to draw the viewer into a world.”

Hall’s work will be on display throughout February, and the CCAC will host a reception for her beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1. The event is free and open to the public.

“I do enjoy meeting people and seeing how they feel about the work,” Hall said. “A lot of my work is mixed media, and it’s better to experience in person than on a website.”

Hall said Charles City art patrons should expect to see something inspiring — and a little bit different from the usual landscape and still life paintings. She was among the artists whose work was on display at the 2018 Artafest in Charles City, and a mutual friend introduced her to CCAC Director Jacqueline Davidson.

“There was an intern we had here a year ago, and she keyed me in to Autumn, and said we had to get her in here, so we were finally able to work that out,” Davidson said.

“I was in the art fair and got to see the town and check out the art center,” Hall said. “A friend from college introduced me to Jackie.”

Hall lives in Des Moines and works from her home studio. She had her first solo exhibition in 2014, and has since participated in group shows in several states, including California, Maryland, Texas, Michigan, Iowa, and one international show in Portugal. She also participates in community art projects, and is a member of the Urbandale Art Gallery Committee. Her work explores folklore and “human connectivity to nature.”

She grew up in Burlington and attended college at Northern Iowa, where she achieved her Bachelors of Art in the spring 2013, with a dual emphasis in painting and drawing.

“I enjoy painting and use the visual medium to communicate effectively,” she said. “My art deals with the relationship between people and nature and how this relationship affects identity. I usually use folklore and faerie motifs to express these themes.”

She works in acrylic, oil and mixed media as well as incorporating found objects such as bones, laces, wings and vintage book pages.

“In my paintings I use flowers, leaves, seed pods and other bits of nature for reference,” she said. “I collage book pages, lace, insect wings, tissue paper and found objects into the substrate of the piece and paint into it to create a layered painting.”

Hall grew up by the banks of the Mississippi River. Although she lived in town, she said she always sought the wild places, “where the brambles overran the houses, and the gardens outgrew their yards.” Hall said these wild places inspire her art, which seeks to capture a sense of wonder. She paints on a variety of surfaces, including up-cycled panels, canvas, heavy paper and cradle wood.

“My goal is not to create fantasy, but I take inspiration from folk tales and fairy tales and use that to embody the idea of connection to the land and nature,” she said. “I’m actually into conservation and raising awareness of conservation as a personal connection to the natural world.”

Much of Hall’s work is available to look at on her Facebook Page, “Whispers of Autumn.”

“I believe that there is wonder and magic hidden in the world around us,” she said. “I seek to show this through my art work.”

Starting in February, the CCAC will be open to the public from 1-6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.