Durham Convention Center features 'Spellbinders and Dreamcatchers'

The Durham Convention Center will become a forest with a local artist’s tree-focused exhibit.

Joel Tesch’s exhibit “Spellbinders and Dreamcatchers” features 14 acrylic paintings and is on display at the center through April. The collection of acrylic paintings features work from two series: “Symphony of Trees” and “Starburst.” Tesch’s work was selected to hang in the Durham Convention Center by the Durham Arts Council through an annual call to artists.

The inspiration behind both series was Tesch’s experimentation with contrast. He said he was drawn to trees as a subject matter because of their elegance and versatility. Rather than a traditional head-on approach, Tesch tried to emphasize contrast by painting trees from various angles and by using bright, contrasting colors.

The paintings are on the larger end of the scale, with the largest being 4 feet by 5 feet. Tesch said the biggest challenge in creating these two series was figuring out how to set up and paint such large canvases.

“The biggest challenge would probably be the physical,” he said.

Tesch, a 1996 UNC graduate, started out sketching editorial cartoons for The Daily Tar Heel and went on to a career in corporate sales for 15 years. He said his wife inspired him to return to art, and he created his first painting for her. Now, seven years later, he said he feels lucky to be able to make art his primary career.

“My advice would be to decide what you really want out of your art career,” Tesch said.

He said young artists should decide what kind of art they want to make and what they want that art to say to other people.

Margaret DeMott, the director of artist services at the Durham Arts Council, said the Durham Convention Center reached out to the council two years ago asking for pieces from local artists to display in the space for six-month intervals.

Lindsay Gordon, the council’s artist services manager, said because the Durham Convention Center is not a traditional gallery setting, the council has to be careful in choosing art that will complement the place. They looked for pieces that were the right size to fill up the center walls and that used colors complementary to those in the center.

DeMott said Tesch’s work was also chosen because it fits the happy atmosphere of the special events venue.

“Joel’s work makes people feel good,” DeMott said. “We want work that will make people happy.”

She said she hopes people will walk away from the exhibit with a newfound appreciation of local artistic talent. Gordon holds a similar view.

“Hopefully it will inspire them to seek out art not only at the arts council but also throughout Durham,” Gordon said.

arts@dailytarheel.com