March 2011 - Lee Dunkel and Jane Jennings March 12 2011

Each month one of the 59 artists represented by Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectibles, the downtown New Smyrna Beach art gallery, is featured in a solo exhibition. During the month of March, the gallery will be showcasing 2 solo artists: Lee Dunkel and Jane Jennings.


This body of work by renowned photographer Lee Dunkel was created at the Lyonia Preserve in Deltona, Florida. It is a prelude to a larger body of work that will be presented at the Southeast Museum of Photography in October of 2012.

The Lyonia Preserve is known as an “upland” landscape, meaning that it is high and dry. There are few upland areas left in Florida. Since 1994, restoration efforts have been made to remove overgrown sand pines, creating bare sand areas with low-growing vegetation preferred by native scrub species.


Dunkel describes her work in Lyonia: 

“The austere landscape at Lyonia is almost a Zen experience, with its pure white sand and sparse vegetation. At first I thought there was not a lot to photograph, because, as a whole, it looked more forbidding than enticing. But the more I returned to it, the more I saw. I worked with the changing light, weather, and seasons, finding beautiful details in the plants and terrain.”


There is a book accompanying the exhibition called Nine Portfolios 1985-2008, featuring the artist’s black and white photographs from 1985 – 2008. Lee Dunkel will be giving a gallery talk on Friday, March 11 at 11am to discuss her work and artistic process.

Distinguished fiber artist Jane Jennings uses batik fabric to create delicately crafted assemblage sculptures. The title of her new show, The Language of Luminosity: Batik Assemblages springs forth from a collection of new work using cotton batiks as an art medium.



The title of this show has a dual meaning: It is first the result of inspiration from the radiant hues of hand-dyed and hand-printed fabrics made in Indonesia and secondly, the concept of spiritual enlightenment subtly expressed in visual form. Several pieces in the show incorporate a natural theme with a fantasy element normally unexpected in Jenning’s work. In contrast, the multi-dimensional wall pieces included in the exhibit are meant to emphasize the absence of nature and the stark coldness of city life. Regardless of subject matter, the luminosity of batik patterns and vivid colors opens a world of artistic possibilities for the fiber artist.


Jennings will be giving a gallery talk on Friday, March 25 at 11am to discuss her work and artistic process.