A Sight Seen Puncturing The Cycle Of Repetitive Concerns
This year marks 20 since I began painting publicly. I am 51. The early portion of my art focused on images with words I thought gave relief from the life I had at the time. I've considered calling those images "Leisure paintings" but haven't found opportunities to discuss them as such or separately from the work I do today. Today's work and the work from the past eight years or so has become more philosophical. Recently I've weighed thoughts about certitude and uncertainty. I once did a picture that I titled "The Uncertainty Is Over". That was an attempt at levity in 2016 when all seemed uncertain. Today I have a picture that imagines certitude to be a phenomenon hidden behind a waterfall. My paintings on wood panels began primitively in 2001 and the function is still the same today. I use these pictures as a device to do my thinking and suspend the monotony that is common in life. I paint what I need to see and say. Uncertainty isn't a new problem, it's always been present. It appears to me that certitude is a greater threat to people because it is so often false. Confidence is not a prerequisite to truth.
- Harry Underwood, 2021
The WADDI, 26 Waddell St NE 30307, a new art gallery in the heart of Inman Park, opens Saturday, June 12, with an all-day reception from 11am-5pm. The debut exhibition, '3 Southern Artists', features paintings by Tennessee outsider artist Harry Underwood, plus new works by local favorite Ab the Flagman and mid-90s paintings by the late Panorama Ray.
Located a short stroll from Whitespace, the WADDI was previously home to the studios of Atlanta artists Fahamu Pecou and Eben Dunn, until a fire gutted the building in the fall of 2018. Repaired and repurposed as a modern gallery space with a large courtyard, the WADDI has hosted a handful of private events while navigating the pandemic and preparing to open. Owners Eben Dunn and Stephanie Monroe have partnered with longtime Atlanta gallerist Shawn Vinson as Gallery Director, and they are delighted to finally welcome the public to their cultural oasis in the heart of Inman Park.
The WADDI will showcase art by emerging, local talent as well as established, internationally known artists.