Annalisa Fink just can’t stop painting rhododendrons.
A graduate of Bob Jones University who’s originally from the Midwest, Fink is inspired by the natural landscapes of South Carolina — its saltwater marshes and coastal birds, its mountain streams and (especially) its rhododendron beds that bloom in spring.
“I’ve kind of fallen in love with the South,” says Fink, who lives in Columbia. “I love how mysterious and tangled up everything is.”
Fink is teaming up with Art & Light Gallery in Greenville for a solo exhibit called “Stubborn Hope,” which opens on March 2 and can be viewed both online and in the gallery.
Fink says “Stubborn Hope” emerged as she reflected on the past year.
“A lot of my work is about light and shadows,” she says. “We can’t really get away from the darkness, but the darkness can help show beauty when the light comes through.”
Like when a shaft of sunlight breaks through the trees in an old growth forest, Fink says. “It’s magnificent.”
Many of Fink’s acrylic “plant portraits” will be on display at the show. For more information, visit artandlightgallery.com/exhibitions.
Art & Light plans to host a socially responsible First Friday event at the gallery, 16 Aiken St., from 6-8 p.m. on March 5. Those interested in meeting the artist in person will be able to do so while donning masks.
