A.V. Herle

A.V. Herle's large, unmistakable paintings are meditations on the glamorous world of fashion and beauty. A sudden flash of bright, vivid eyes. A toss of exquisitely styled hair. These are timeless moments when we encounter high fashion, and these unforgettable occasions have been caught in a truly remarkable new body of work mixing both classical and contemporary ideas of fashion.

The canvases are large scale portraiture featuring beautiful, expressive women, and the images have the power of enticing viewers and leading them to interpret a variety of meanings in each expression - a combination of high fashion and an American sense of wonder. The paintings are inspired by both yesterday's and today's fashion while exploring issues of identity, emotion and human interrelationships.

As timelessly chic as Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," these women are playfully sexy, and their expressions and eyes tell stories that go far beyond the simple exhibition of fine fashion. In the artist's masterful hands, fashion becomes alive.

"These women - they feel. My work is an attempt to capture the complexity of emotions that are conveyed in the human face. There's a story behind every face"

The paintings are an attempt to tell these stories by capturing delicate facial expressions and juxtaposing them with vibrant color and the dramatic interplay of shadow and light that both inform her subjects and maintain their enigmatic aura.

"I'm constantly delighted by the various interpretations my work receives. For some, a subject may be pensive, while to others it may be seductive or confrontational. Part of the viewing experience is for a viewer to attach his or her own emotional meaning to a work."