Exhibitions
BILL KILLEBREW: FRESH BREEZE ON A LIFTED TACK
David Lusk Gallery Nashville / 516 Hagan St. September 3 - October 5th
Bill Killebrew
Fresh Breeze on a Lifted Tack continues Nashville painter Bill Killebrew’s practice of capturing mundane moments in time. Killebrew draws inspiration from both photographs and his memory. The subjects range widely: his purple-haired hairdresser; a photo of lightning bugs at dusk; scenery from his driveway at different times of the day; and his wife on a museum visit.
One piece, Kitchen Studio Door, is a combination of three photos merged together, used for the preliminary sketch and then painted by Killebrew. It creates a dynamic scene to be dissected and unpacked continuously. Drawing inspiration from European post-impressionists like Edouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, Killebrew uses movement on the canvas and bright colors to bring to life specific moments in time.
Over his long artistic career, Killebrew has often pulled paintings from deep storage to rework them, striving to find the perfect palette that conveys the desired tone for the piece. Sometimes, the work starts with a combination of photos, as in Mimi and the Dancers. Killebrew notes that this painting has been reworked multiple times over a 15-year span. The proper relationship between colors on the canvas finally makes it complete. This pinpoints an intriguing and notable aspect of Killebrew's career: color used to highlight aspects of a moment he found intriguing.
“That wall, it’s blue, but not that blue. It’s all about the lighting and the relationship between colors to bring it to life,” Killebrew explains his color choices for the piece Dog.
Fresh Breeze on a Lifted Tack is a collection of paintings that are particularly different in subject and size. In each, though, Killebrew has woven a world into a singular moment, using color and abstraction to transport to that very same moment, as the scene unfolds.
Killebrew is a Nashville native and received a BFA in painting and printmaking from Middle Tennessee State University. His work is in public and private collections throughout the Southeastern United States. He is also an accomplished guitarist, sailor, builder and conversationalist.
