Elizabeth Torak’s ‘The Feast of Venus I’ was the featured piece in a exhibition at the Elizabeth de C. Wilson Museum of the Southern Vermont Art Center. Elizabeth Torak – The Feast of Venus I: An Exploration of the Artist’s Process, was on display form July 23 – October 16, 2011. The exhibit was the culmination of years of work by Elizabeth in creating the beautiful 5′ x 9′ pieces that is currently being featured in our gallery. The exhibition included thirty-seven drawings and eight oil studies that went into the development of the finished product and “tell the story of the birth of a work of art.” During her process, Elizabeth blogged about her progress, including pictures, just to give everyone a bit of insight into the life of an artist!

Elizabeth Torak, ‘The Feast of Venus I’, 60 x 108, Oil on Canvas

In the traditional Feast of Venus, a voluptuous goddess is surrounded by dozens of frolicking men, women, and infants. However, Elizabeth’s version is

a celebration of women, a consideration of the relationship between women and food, and a meditation on the mystery of creativity.

The process also provided a great opportunity for her husband, Thomas Torak. He was able to paint a number of pieces of Elizabeth working. As ou can see, both Torak’s are extremely talented and we are lucky to have pieces from both of them in the gallery!

Thomas Torak, ‘Women in Art III: Painting the Feast’, 40 x 48, Oil on Canvas

Please stop by to see both Elizabeth and Thomas’ work in person!