Two Undiscovered Island Painters to Show at A Gallery

On Sunday, August 26^th, two Island artists will show their work in a large gallery for the first time. Lily Morris and Billy Hoff are both Island painters who have been working quietly under the Island’s art world radar for some time, but no longer.

Tanya Augoustinos, co-owner of A Gallery called Lily Morris “wildly talented” and the Los Angeles-based art-blog "Beautiful Decay" described her paintings as “seemingly familiar scenes that require squinting eyes and conjure a feeling akin to driving somewhere remote in the pouring rain. Her style fluctuates between washy layers of oil and solid photographic realism. Subjects and objects are caught exploding, describing the very instant an action occurs- the horrifying moment before perception intervenes and untangles what just happened. Morris’s paintings recount these inexplicable, fleeting moments of confusion and lay them out in raw and compelling fashion."  

Also undiscovered is Billy Hoff - a painter from West Tisbury whose show locations so far only include the West Tisbury Library. “Someone recommended that I seek him out, and I did,” said Augostinos. “We included one piece in the group representation for our opening round and sold it to Swede who bought three other artworks on-island that week, all the other works were from known artists.”

Hoff’s work is inspired by narrative painters like N C Wyeth and Howard Pyle and excited by de Kooning's frenetic energy. He speaks about being drawn to Twobly's methodically lyrical restraint. 
His figurative paintings are like windows into another era - a neo-maritime narrative that portrays seafarers as heroic pioneers in search of promise and new beginnings.  

EMERGENCE: Artists Reception for Lily Morris and Billy Hoff. Oil Paintings on canvas. Sunday, August 26^th, from 5 – 8PM The Show runs from August 26 to September 12, 2012