March 18th, 2009
Clearly Talented Artist’s Show in NoDa – Charlotte, NC
Kendra Baird's Across the Tracks
Kendra Baird never grew up waiting to be a painter. In fact, her college career began at in her home state majoring in architecture, a field that made her father proud and excited. Then the art bug spread and Kendra knew she was more interested in expanding her art knowledge beyond structures. She gained acceptance into the prestigious SCAD. Dad got nervous, but Kendra assured him she could find paying gigs as a graphic designer and her father learned to come around to that idea. Then, one day, well after graduation, she picked up a paint brush. Sure, she is still a freelance graphic designer, but painting has opened a whole new view of the world for this plucky 20-something.
Last Saturday my husband and I went to Charlotte for the sole purpose of visiting Green Rice Gallery, and Kendra’s current show “An Unclear Sky” and we were not disappointed. When I look at these images I imagine a person wandering through an abandoned building, walking up to a murky window, wiping a round viewing patch off with a shirtsleeve and peering through into another world and time, one that perhaps Charles Dickens, Tim Burton and Lemony Snicket also have seen.
If you get a chance, go to the funky little gallery in NoDa, filled with dozens of works from several artists, but if at all possible, go before March 29th. Baird’s work is already starting to sell off, but gallery owner Carla Garrison assures all pieces will remain through the end of the show.