SCAD graduate's moving artwork to go on display as part of Andaz's 'Artist Salon'
Watery scenes rendered in muted tones, translucent human forms caught in liminal spaces between memory and longing—the hallmarks of the work of fine artist, Sally Mayer Seidl. Her paintings, while often capturing present-day places, tap into an ethos gently transporting the viewer to ethereal, southern gothic-inspired vistas.
On Thursday, Sally Mayer Seidl presents a collection of work at Andaz Savannah, 14 Barnard Street, as part of the hotel’s monthly series “Artist Salon.” The reception kicks off at 5 p.m. with champagne and house-made hors d’oeuvres with exhibition running through mid-August.
Mayer Seidl grew up outside of Baltimore and spent much of her formative years on her grandmother’s 355-acre farm in rural Maryland. As a child and through her teens, she took note of the property’s surrounding plants, trees, animals and nearby river, sketching and perfecting their forms and idiosyncrasies.
In high school, when she learned about Savannah College of Art and Design, she fell in love with all things Hostess City as a prospective student on a visit with her mother. When she applied, not only was Mayer Seidl accepted, but her art portfolio garnered a partial scholarship to attend.
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If You Go:
What: Artist Salon, featuring the work of Sally Mayer Seidl
Where: Andaz Savannah, 14 Barnard Street, Savannah
When: Thursday, July 13, 5:00p, opening reception; exhibition running through mid-August
Cost: Free to attend
Try as they might, though, the family couldn’t quite pull together the resources to cover the rest of tuition. At the time it was a painful blow, but Mayer Seidl was determined to be a professional artist and found other ways to begin her training. And in time find her way back to SCAD.
“I dug in. I worked at Starbucks and saved and worked my way through junior college,” recalled Mayer Seidl. “And then there was an opportunity to study painting in Italy for a month with the Maryland Institute College of Art. My grandma was so kind, she helped me with some of that cost, and the experience changed my life.”
The study abroad course led Mayer Seidl to John Cabot University in Rome where she finished her undergraduate degree in art history. Afterwards, she landed a four-month internship in the art department at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Things were cruising along smoothly until a death in the family brought her back to the U.S., followed closely by the 2008 economic recession. She remained in the United States, for a time living in New York then California, all the while pushing and refining her work.
As she focused, Mayer Seidl started making her own gesso, the mostly white base layer that artists apply to a surface before painting. She incorporated into her mixture bits of organic matter from wherever she was working and then applied it to her canvas or wood panel. Then, she built layer upon layer of color to create scenes, portraits and still lifes before applying a sander to remove some of the paint. The result was her signature nostalgic, dream-like images.
“Most of the material sourced for the gesso in these paintings came from Bonaventure Cemetery,” revealed Mayer Seidl. “Thematically it fits because not only does this handmade foundation dictate how the image comes out, but the materials in the gesso also reinforce the idea of the cycle of life, the decay and peeling back of layers of life and time.”
“Waltz Scene,” is an example of how she builds texture and color within an image. The gesso, thick with soil and vegetation from Bonaventure, makes a rough base coat, and atop it she’s painted couples clad in formal attire suggestive of Great Gatsby or the roaring 1920s. With the sander, Mayer Seidl then subtracts some of the layered color to reveal a scene faded, removed in time and memory.
In “Nocturne of Remembered Spring,” she draws upon her time in Italy to create a muted and chipped portrait of a couple. In it, the man embraces the woman from behind as his forehead dips gently into the back of hers. She is looking forward, holding a bowl of lemons, while an orange tabby cat bends at her feet. The man is more fragmented, more transparent, as if a ghost, or fond memory, in relation to the clearer and more forward depiction of the woman.
“I was thinking of the frescoes of Pompeii,” mused Mayer Seidl. “And wanted to suggest an element of that aesthetic into the work. Sanding the image creates a sense of revery, a time or relationship recalled from the past. The title of the piece is also title of a Conrad Aiken poem and pays homage to the very poet also buried in Bonaventure.”
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After more than 10 years painting and refining her work on her own, Mayer Seidl made it to Savannah College of Art and Design. She was accepted into the school’s MFA painting program where she graduated in spring 2020. And since last August, Mayer Seidl has been teaching fulltime in the foundations department.
“Ever since that visit with my mom in high school, I’ve always loved and wanted to live in Savannah,” said Mayer Seidl. “It’s the pace, the waterways, the barrier islands, the boating and camping. I love it here. I love the deep history and culture everywhere you turn. The biggest thanks to Tiffani Taylor, a true earth angel, who has worked with Andaz to help support local artists. It’s been a long road but I got back to where I needed to be. Savannah.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Painter Sally Mayer Seidl returns to Savannah to display artwork
