RECEPTION for From Dark to Light
An exhibit by Chris Ingram
EXHIBIT DATES
November6 - December 11, 2026
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
When I have the opportunity to teach painting to aspiring artists, I offer them a basic set of ideas, not stone‐carven rules, to practice and contemplate. Among these is to paint from dark to light (unless the media is watercolor!). As I have matured as an artist, I have come to the realization that painting is ultimately all about the light. Therefore, as you view this exhibit I hope that I have effectively shared with you my reverence for light; as it describes a form, as it creates colors and values, as it reveals everything that we experience with our precious sight.
In my younger years, I was more concerned with painting the object; the tree, the sky, the building, the airplane, the dog, the person, etc. The revelations of a more sophisticated understanding of light have pushed me beyond the simple notion of the thing into a more advanced appreciation of the eccentricities of light. I am learning to see and value the energy, the vibrations, the actual substance of light.
Painting en plein air has been the most instructive experience in my quest to understand light more fully. In the absence of time or opportunity to paint outdoors, I have also amassed a heart collection of sky, architecture and landscape photographs to look back on and draw inspiration from. I recommend this to any artist: seek opportunities to enhance your visual vocabulary and be ever observant so that the catalog of imagery in your mind is always growing and available as you create your latest masterpiece.
In a favorite book of mine, a wise character says: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Relating to my art practice, I have often thought of time as an enemy. I spent too many years wrapped up in this or that vocation for the purpose of making money, generally relegating my art to an avocation; a darkness that I now endeavor to rectify nearly every day. Perhaps there is a duality in my conception of “from dark to light,” referring not only to this collection of paintings, but also to my eventual choice to value my time for its incalculable preciousness, to do my work and to focus my energy in the light of being a creator.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chris Ingram earned a B.F.A. in Studio Art. This degree, however, was only the beginning as he has spent a lifetime making, studying and teaching art and art history. He lived in Europe as a child and had the opportunity to see many of the great works of Western Art in person, a truly formative experience. Chris is currently working on the WWII mural in downtown Athens.