Alexander/Heath Contemporary
is pleased to announce
SE x SW : ROANOKE REVELATIONS
American Viscose Plant & Grandin Village
an exhibition by painter
Kevin A. Deck
March 7 through March 28, 2025
OPENING RECEPTION:
Art-by-Night Friday, March 7th, 2025, 5-9 pm
Artist Talk at 7 pm
CLOSING RECEPTION:
Friday, March 28th, 2025, 6-9 pm
Opening Reception – Friday, March 7, 2025
Kevin A. Deck
Photo by Robert Natt
I’m a lifelong maker, a career architect, and lover of all forms of design/craft/art. I started exploring
watercolor in 2018 and quickly became enamored with the medium, and humbled by the challenges
it presents.
My wife and I have lived in the Grandin Village for 38 years and in the fall of 2018 I began to paint scenes of some of the most storied and iconic places a few blocks from our home. Looking at my neighborhood through the eyes of a painter was a revelation.
These early works of the Village are characterized by vibrant colors, compositions blurred by layered reflections, highly detailed storefronts, and nocturnal scenes. This collection of paintings attempts to capture the current vitality and “vibe” of the Village, while celebrating the rich history of the place. Discovering so much of the history of my beloved neighborhood was an unexpected and delightful byproduct of this series.
I can remember driving by the American Viscose Plant along the Roanoke river some time in 1987, and being struck with the expansive scale, endless clerestories, towering brick smokestacks, and the time-forgotten sense of the place. Over the years I would observe it hundreds of times and photograph it from my bike.
My first painting of the site dates to 2021 but I’ve painted it with intention now for the past 18 months. The complex has provided an endless stream of inspiring subjects to tackle. I have tried to capture the full range of scales, from wide panoramic views, to a sparsely lit service corridor, a single door opening, an abandoned Cadillac. I treat each subject with the same reverence to pay homage to the architects, builders, and workers that shaped the fabric of the place and wrote its early history. And with the imminent redevelopment of the property into Riverdale, my work provides a few snapshots of the “before”.
The group of nine abstract paintings in the exhibit were inspired by fragments extracted from my completed American Viscose Plant paintings.
I hope these works cause you to slow down, to look closer, dive deeper, and immerse yourself in the richness and unexpected beauty of these places.
Resources: kevinadeck.com
The exhibition is on display through March 28, 2025.
Access is available during special exhibition hours or by appointment only:
Contact Ed Hettig:
hettig@alexander-heath.com or text 607.226.2473.