INTRODUCTION

“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”
- Oscar Wilde

The Hardy Gallery is pleased to present the final exhibit of the 2025 season, Kickin’ Up the Chroma. This exhibit features three important artists in the Door County art scene: Lynn Gilchrist, Liz Maltman, and Reneé Schwaller. These artists work with color in expressive and inventive ways. Chroma is defined as the purity or intensity of color, and the work of these three artists notably “kicks it up.” All three artists draw inspiration from nature and enhance the chroma beyond what we typically perceive. Maltman and Gilchrist incorporate dizzying brushwork, shifting perspectives, layering, and patterned elements, defying many conventions associated with the landscape genre. Schwaller uses transparent glazes and opaque, graphic carved elements that complement the painterly mark-making of Maltman and Gilchrist.

Maltman’s work, primarily created alla prima (a technique where a painting is completed in one session), reveals the process of discovery through addition and subtraction. Her openness invites viewers into her world. For instance, in Bluebird with Betty + Billy, a table setting immediately transports the viewer into a whimsical, Alice in Wonderland-like adventure. Although all the objects are derived from her surroundings, she joyfully combines them to construct a new narrative detached from our reality.

In contrast, Gilchrist’s approach involves meticulous consideration for each element, often resulting in paintings developed over several sessions, whether in plein air or in her studio. Her work embodies slowness and careful observation. While her paintings are two-dimensional, they evoke an almost auditory experience. In works such as Everything Changes, you can almost hear the wind rustling through the leaves or the waves lapping against the bluffs. Viewing Lynn’s work encourages the viewer to notice the details in their surroundings that are often overlooked. Her paintings are pure poetry.

While Schwaller’s work is not created in plein air, her practiced intuition and confidence in motif is that which only comes with extended periods of time spent in nature observing and remembering. They are ceramic works that feel a part of Maltman’s world which is brought to reality in works such as Red Flowers in Reneé’s Bowl. All of their work exudes an honest, human energy and joy. The three artists provide us with a full range of the emotional and physical states that can be rewarded by giving your undivided attention to the natural world that surrounds us.

Thank you for visiting us at the Hardy Gallery. Please enjoy the exhibition.

Adam Fulwiler

Executive Director, The Hardy Gallery

On Exhibit: August 29 – October 12, 2025.

Exhibit Sponsors: Dennis & Bonnie Connolly, Steve & Jessica Sauter.

Opening Reception: August 29, 2025.

Liz Maltman

I think of myself as a plein air painter, meaning I paint outside in the open air. BUT! I’m also a full-time resident of Wisconsin, so it’s really more accurate to say plein air painting is my favorite way and place to paint—possible from some times in May to some times in November when it’s not raining or otherwise precipitating! The other 6-8 months I’m in the studio painting from memory or imagination…Or painting still-lifes and portraits.

The Director of the Hardy, Adam, recently made me aware I’m also an alla prima painter (!)—meaning I start and finish the painting in one sitting. (Who knew?) Van Gogh is probably the most well-known alla prima artist. He was even known to wear a crown of candles so he could finish his painting if it got dark! (I haven’t yet tried this!). Claude Monet, on the other hand, often painted en plein air, but would return to his studio and create a larger, more elaborate and nuanced piece using the painting done in the field for reference.

My favorite thing is to stand in a field of wildflowers in August or September with a large canvas or board and paint—maybe all day. I look at every painting I do as an experiment, so some pieces work better than others and some don’t work at all! For me the process is what’s important so it’s all fun. If it doesn’t work, I just cut it up! That process in itself can be strangely satisfying! (Please note some of the birds inhabiting this space!)

It is a HUGE HONOR to be in this show with Lynn and Reneé, two of the most wonderful artists in the WORLD! Thank you so much to Adam and the Hardy for this opportunity and thank you for visiting the Hardy! We hope you enjoy the show as much as we loved creating the art!

Reneé Schwaller

As I work in my studio, my hands in the clay, I think about what I’m going to write for my artist statement; when I hear a crow make the most unusual sound. I’ve never heard a crow make this call before and I realize….”that is what this is all about….the wonder of nature and the constant surprises that happen out there”. I have recently started working in the studio without a radio/music on and I hear the subtleties of life outside my window. This work is inspired by the majesty of the earth and all the creatures on it. I’m in awe of how intelligent nature is and am often contemplating how humans fit in. I think we are all here to work in harmony with nature and with one another, on an energetic level and physical level.

I used to make mostly functional work and I still get great pleasure out of imagining someone using a handmade mug every morning for their coffee or tea but lately I’ve been drawn to make wall pieces, sculptures and large pieces that serve no practical purpose but to be a reminder of the beauty that we have access to. About how we are all connected and relying on one another for survival and for joy. How the tree roots communicate and support one another under the ground, how bacteria, minerals, and and fungi are interconnected and how they contribute to the food we eat and on and on. I guess you could say I’m just blown away with “what is” and what we don’t even know. I find inspiration in nature wherever I go. Most of the pieces are inspired by the natural beauty of Door County but some are inspired by our recent trips to two Caribbean Islands where the jungle/forest and ocean was teaming with so much colorful life.

I have had so much fun working on this show with Liz, Lynn and Adam. They are all such an inspiration, amazing artists and just wonderful people.

Lynn Gilchrist

It is a privilege to be included in this exhibition with two artists who are friends I admire greatly. This setting, the Hardy Gallery, has always been a meaningful place for me.

I moved to Sturgeon Bay in 1975, a few years out of college and leaving behind an urban environment. My focus in college was studying contemporary art, the more challenging and provocative the better. My initial concerns that Door County wasn’t going to support my ideas of what Real Art should be soon morphed into the realization that I had a lot to learn before calling myself an artist. The first time I had a drawing accepted into the Hardy Gallery’s juried show was a milestone for me, followed over the years by acceptances into their juried and invitational exhibitions. The support of the Hardy has decidedly helped me grow as an artist.

I am a painter who loves the natural world, especially the woods and shores of Door County. I run, walk, and bike among our abundance of beauty. I love to look carefully at everything around me. I’ve been accused of staring into space ever since I was a daydreaming child.

What drives me as an artist are the desires to save and share my experiences of the world. We can’t hold on to things forever, but painting can be a stubborn attempt to save things like the color of certain light and the mysteries of the woods. In troubling times art is a source of communal support. I look to trees and waters for their wordless wisdom, devoid of ego. Color is of great importance to me, almost as necessary as air and water. Color palettes can be as satisfying and joyful as well-composed music or menus, containing harmonies and unexpected dissonances. Chroma, or intensity of color, evokes emotion and enriches life.

I paint with oils and with acrylics. Most often I use oil colors when painting outdoors and acrylics in the studio, while recently also employing slow-drying acrylics outdoors. The paintings are done in various modes: some of the plein air paintings are done in one sitting (well, I’m actually standing) while racing against the changing light, some start outdoors with additional work in the studio, and some are done in the studio, using memory and imagination. I enjoy each mode of working. I work pretty directly, quickly drawing the composition on the canvas or board with charcoal before coming in with paint. The clean-edge paintings employ stencils that I design, draw, and cut by hand. Sometimes I cut a set of stencil overlays for one “woods on wood” piece and in others I use my existing stencils, piecing together as I go. The satisfaction comes from solving a puzzle that has endless solutions.

It is such a treat to share this beautiful space with Liz Maltman and Reneé Schwaller. We have stories of shared classes at Peninsula School of Art. Years ago Liz attended a plein air class I taught. While she was new to the process, her work quickly and fluently exploded with originality. In no time she surpassed anything I had taught her! Around that time the three of us took a painting class together; I was happy to get to know Reneé and to find that this wonderful ceramic artist had a fun and beautiful painting style all her own! Both Reneé and Liz have kind and generous spirits.

I’m lucky enough to share a lot of plein air painting time with Liz. Her joyful, spontaneous work always inspires me and she reminds me (in the kindest way) to stop thinking and start painting! It is more important than ever to add all our creative and sharing voices to the world. Thanks for looking!