Exhibition Dates: February 27  – March 27, 2010
Opening Reception: First Friday Gallery Walk, March 5, 6-10pm

(Visual Art/Photography)
Location: Artspace, Upfront Gallery

Secret Hours II showcases Alison Overton’s new foray into the digital photography medium. This recently created body of work reveals a great departure in subject matter, style, and size for Overton. Previously she had worked exclusively with analog (wet) processes in photography, creating medium format silver gelatin prints of architectural landscapes and statues, subsequently hand-tinting the prints with oil paints.

The new subject matter of the photographs consists of antique dolls and curious objects juxtaposed with unusual flora and fauna. The dolls and other objects are items that Overton found this past year while clearing out her childhood home in Vance County, NC. Her parents had obsessively collected all manner of things  for decades. For Overton, the objects attracted her as she came to realize that they represented both real and imagined childhood memories, for both her and her parents.

A native of North Carolina and life-long artist, Overton has been photographing since 1980. She earned a BA in Environmental Design in 1982 from North Carolina State University’s School of Design. Overton was awarded Regional Artists Project Grants for 2002, 2004, and 2008 from the United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County. In 2009 she was granted the Sarah Everett Toy Memorial Award, a full scholarship to study photography at Penland. Her work has been widely exhibited throughout the country and is included in numerous collections including the Gregg Museum of Art and Design, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; Louisburg College, Louisburg, NC; Credit Suisse First Boston Headquarters; Saks Fifth Avenue; SAS Institute; and the City of Raleigh.