An eastern Iowa artist will have her first solo museum exhibition when “Veiled: The Art of Heidi Draley McFall” goes on display beginning Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Figge Art Museum in downtown Davenport.
Ms. McFall’s work will be on view on the second-floor Katz Gallery through June 4. Arrestingly evocative, her large-scale portraits invite audiences to explore the expressions of her subjects.
In addition to being her first solo museum exhibition, the show features her largely unseen recent series of pastel drawings coated in resin. Based near DeWitt, Iowa, Ms. McFall is a self-taught artist whose work has been part of group exhibitions at museums across the country and in Italy.
Ms. McFall will discuss her work in an Artist Talk on Thursday, March 2, at the Figge. A member reception begins at 5 p.m. followed by the Artist Talk at 6:30 p.m.
The exhibition’s supporting sponsor is Bill Barnes and contributing sponsors include First Central State Bank and Ohnward Bancshares, Inc.
This exhibition features 19 works created over the past four years portraying the artist’s family, friends, and past acquaintances. According to the Figge, Ms. McFall’s connection with her subjects gives her insight into their emotional state and personality.
“Heidi’s portraits of her friends and family draw you in immediately— from the delicate mark-making to the shifting surface textures, these works must be seen in person to appreciate their many nuances and expressive power,” Figge Assistant Curator Vanessa Sage said in a news release. “While she has been an artist active in the region for years, this is a fantastic opportunity for visitors to see new, exciting and experimental work by the artist.”
The monumental drawings are sourced from black-and-white film photography that McFall develops in her darkroom. Following the creation of the drawings, she coats the paper in resin – a liquid epoxy that hardens into a clear layer. She alters the resin through the addition of powders and dyes, and by impressing the top layer with materials, including shower curtains and shrink wrap. The final works are a combination of intention and chance variations, with striking visual effects, intriguing surface textures, and veils of pigment that add depth to the drawings.
“These last four years of making art have been all about experimentation that yielded successes and failures,” Ms. McFall said in the release. “Thrilling and exhilarating when the experiments work and crushing when they fail. It’s difficult to find humor in that process when, with each work, you know that at any moment one wrong turn, or a lapse in attention, or an unconsidered variable, could mean disaster.”
Her work has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions at galleries and museums including Annina Nosei Gallery, New York, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, Paolo Curti Gallery, Milan, Italy, The McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Dubuque Museum of Art and Elmhurst Art Museum.
Located on the Mississippi River in downtown Davenport at 225 W. Second St., the Figge Art Museum is the premier art exhibition and education facility between Chicago and Des Moines. For more information, visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.
