CORRINE COLARUSSO’S SUN ALSO RISES

Before beginning her series of paintings for a solo show at the Newport Art Museum called “Magic Gold, Full Sun,” Corrine Colarusso wondered about painting a sunrise relevant in the 21st century. Could it be done? How should it be done?

Speaking from her Atlanta studio, she mentioned the sunrise as being among the most over-appropriated images in today’s advertising lexicon. It frames myriad product placements — everything from banks to cornflakes. She asked whether it was even possible to be original with this subject matter — and decided that the challenge was to reimagine the meaning of this imagery for herself and for the audiences that would experience her artwork.

“Magic Gold, Full Sun” is both her exhibit title and the name of a painting that people will first encounter when walking into Newport’s second floor gallery. The painting, featuring vivid yellow, sets the tone in terms of the show’s dominant color focus.

Depicted by Colarusso, nature looks radiant. The artist explores the effects of morning sunlight in Okefenokee Swamp and surrounding forest areas of Georgia. She paints portals into a natural realm of beauty, shaping appreciation. The title, “Magic Gold, Full Sun,” suggests blazing energy, which is in tune with the way the painter has stimulated a sensibility of growth and biological activity in her paintings.

Suzanne Volmer