The Knapp Gallery continues its tradition of First Friday openings and introduces Anna Belle Loeb in her latest collection of paintings: She's got a lot on her mind. Cathartic and intuitive paintings, Anna Belle Loeb's artwork breathe new liberating perspective into our structured and otherwise pedantic rigid focus.
Loeb's paintings scream for attention; the marks themselves beg closer looks. Cutting across the grain of our comfort, Loeb's imagery exemplifies discovery. "When I walk into my studio I am really there to see what shows up." What usually shows up is a rendering of an event, situation or moment that has somehow negotiated the labyrinth of her subconscious. It is from here, the repository of our stories that she paints. "Our response, as artists, to the story of our lives becomes the flavor and power of our art. Anna Belle Loeb, true to this formula, paints her way free of life's inequitable entanglements," said Karl Slocum, Director of The Knapp Gallery. "Try as we may, we cannot outrun the variables interwoven into the fabric of our character. Shaped by time, experience and events, we are tethered to the story of our lives. A product of the 40's, Loeb, a white Southern female, who has lived to see a black man voted into the Presidency, has plenty of story in reserve.
An eye witness to segregation, a witness to the historical integration of Little Rock Central High School, Loeb has seen a lot; she was in New Orleans when Kennedy was shot. Trained in ethics, a lawyer turned painter, Anna Belle's art plays out years of anguish, resistance and dedication as a social and political activist. Wanting the wrongs of history righted, calling out for equity, justice and truth, she paints away at the dross of life exposing the limitless possibilities that come with freedom.
Laser sharp is her scalpel, slicing through bone and marrow. Titles including The Disappearing White Guy, Mudslide of Politics, Big Bucks, Thou Shalt not break my Heart, Inherit the Wind affirm the intensity of her message. Visually, with an equaled tenacity, she wields an assertive brush. She is not timid. The paintings by nature are edgy shouting with texture, bright color and raw energy; having weighty souls. Yet, in all this there are significant contradictions. Anna Belle is not just all bite, her paintings - Cry Baby, Ochre lambs, young woman and Rabbit in the Hat tell us otherwise. A counter-balancing compassion metes out hope and love for her neighbor. We are caught up in the story of her craft. She gets inside and breaks down our barriers.
Beyond all the rest, Anna Belle is a painter; loving discovery in the Studio, liking the paint as well as the medium. The paintings stand on their own; emotional and honest; a dynamic and pivotal body of work with historical significance.