Florida Artists Group

Lynn's Bio:

Lynn Foskett was born in 1949, in south Florida. Raised and educated in the South, Mid-West and Northeast, Foskett received a strong background in the visual arts in junior college with a focus in Fashion Illustration. After studying abroad, she assisted regionally acclaimed artist, Augusta Oelschig (known for her work in the distinctive Southern Gothic tradition) on a commissioned piece now displayed in the Savannah (GA) Chamber of Commerce. Foskett went on to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from Northern Illinois University.

Since 2000, Foskett has been active in the Tampa Bay FL area arts community, as a volunteer docent at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art (LRMA), a member of the LRMA board of directors and also as its Board Chairman. She served several years on the Tarpon Springs Public Art Committee where she recently completed her term as Chairman. Foskett has been invited to judge several art organizations’ shows including the Palm Harbor Fine Arts and Crafts Festival; the Highlands 2017 Annual Art Festival in Sebring; and the Suncoast Arts Fest 2018, Wesley Chapel.

Foskett is a participating member of the Professional Association of Visual Artists (PAVA) and of the Florida Artists Group (FLAG). Her work has recently been in area group shows, including the Morean Arts Center and in the 2017 Art Center Sarasota’s juried “Florida’s Finest,” garnering an award. In January 2018, Foskett recently completed a solo show at the Pasco Fine Arts Center in New Port Richey and is now preparing new work for upcoming exhibitions.

 

 Artist Statement:

More often than not, I am taken aback by what I think I see or understand and the reality beneath it; perception is, at best, imprecise.  Whether visual or emotional, our interpretations of our world, seen and unseen, are equally deceptive. They are formed by our environment, including physical parameters, knowledge and experiences, or lack thereof.

No two individuals see or understand the same situation or thing in the same way.  My work reflects a continuing curiosity in exploring the dichotomy between perception and reality, and the resulting ambiguities.

At this time, a semi-abstract approach reflects these interests. Textural and linear qualities continually intrigue me, as well as the challenges of integrating positive and negative space. I use layering, whether with collage, stencils, or color; shaped or layered substrates; and mark-making with any conceivable tool to create a visual interpretation of these concerns.

I often use the image of an empty chair as a metaphor for the various issues being explored. As an object, it is not only ubiquitous but intimate - after all, most of a chair’s parts are named after the parts of the human body. It both shapes the space it sits in and how we feel when we sit in it. Just as we identify and design chairs by their particular purposes, they can also be defined by the people who use them. The empty chair can symbolize both loss and receptivity, those who have left us and those yet to come.

 

Education

1975 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL
1970 Associate Degree, Garland Jr. College, Boston, MA

Awards and Honors

2017 Honorable Mention, 67th Annual Florida Artists Group (FLAG) Member Exhibition
         Merit Award, “Florida’s Finest,” Art Center Sarasota
2013 Best of Category in Drawing, Pasco Art Council Art Annual
2012 Honorable Mention, PAVA Annual Member Show
2009 Best of Category in Mixed Media, Pasco Art Council Art Annual
2007 Honorable Mention, Pasco Art Council Art Annual

Select Group Exhibitions

2017 67th Annual FLAG All Member Exhibition
          – Coral Springs Contemporary  Art Museum, Coral Springs FL
          FLAG Area Member Exhibition – Cornerstone Gallery, St. Petersburg College, Clearwater FL
         Juried, “Florida’s Finest” Exhibition – Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota FL    
         99th Annual Member Show – Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg FL
         Juried, “On Your Mark” Exhibition – Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin FL             
2016 66th Annual FLAG Member Exhibition – Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs, Bonita Springs FL
         PAVA Exhibition, Brighthouse Corporate Offices gallery, Clearwater FL
2015 FLAG 65th Annual Member Exhibition – Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpon Springs FL
         Juried, Las Damas de Arte 31st Annual “Sunday in the Arts,” - Scarfone-Hartley Gallery,         
         University of Tampa, Tampa FL
         97th Annual Member Show – Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg FL
2014 Juried, 63rd Annual All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition
         Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL
         Juried, PAVA Annual Spring Show – Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
         Juried, Las Damas de Arte 30th Annual “Sunday in the Arts,”
         Scarfone-Hartley Gallery, University of Tampa, Tampa, FL
2012 Juried, PAVA Annual Spring Show – Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
2011 “Embracing Creativity,“ by Invitation, Pasco Art Center, New Port Richey FL

Solo Exhibition

2018 “The Empty Chair,” Pasco Fine Arts Center, New Port Richey FL
2013 “A Linear Perspective,” Artist’s Faire Gallery, Tarpon Springs, FL

Professional Associations and Affiliations

FLAG (Florida Artists Group)
PAVA (Professional Association of Visual Artists)
Pasco Arts Council
Tarpon Springs Public Art Committee, Chairman