The innocent and playful world of dolls takes an ironic turn in the hands of artist Lorraine Brevig. Her exhibition, “Dolls,” opens Thursday, Oct. 20 in the Babcock Gallery at Sweet Briar College. She also will present an illustrated free public lecture on painting conservation at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 in the Pannell Art Gallery.

Brevig says irony is just one of many emotions that she wishes for her paintings to provoke in viewers. “The use of dolls as a subject matter was something I was exploring long before the ‘Chuckie’ movies,” she said. “The goal was to take something that was considered to be harmless and cute and make it into something threatening and powerful. I enjoyed the drama and psychological responses I received from the viewer by making these dolls so frightening.”

Brevig started painting dolls more than 25 years ago, beginning with her mother’s antique doll from the 1930s. “She handed this thing to me and said ‘Do something with it,’ ” Brevig recalled.

Her initial oil paintings of dolls were larger than human size, measuring as much as 5 by 6 feet. Reflecting on the changes in her style of painting the dolls over the years, she said that today’s paintings are “scaled down, and I like to think that they have more of a sense of humor these days.”

As a longtime paintings conservator at the Richmond Conservation Studio, Brevig also has sought to apply art conservation techniques, such as the inclusion of gold and silver leaves, into her contemporary work. Some of the works in “Dolls” incorporate the use of egg tempera, a medieval method of painting in which egg yolks are mixed with pigment. Brevig used egg tempera during her graduate studies in art conservation at Buffalo State College, and is happy to return to it. “The best part is being able to combine my love of painting conservation with my love of painting,” she said.

Gallery hours are noon to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Friday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Exhibits, lectures and events are free. For more information, please contact Rebecca Massie Lane, director of SBC galleries and the Arts Management Certificate Program at (434) 381-6248 or rmlane@sbc.edu. To see samples of Lorraine Brevig’s work, visit www.lorrainebrevig.com.


— By Katie Beth Ryan '08