Laura Buxton 2007

208 East Boulevard
Charlotte, North Carolina 28203
704.333.5983

McColl Fine Art is pleased to present a retrospective exhibition of works by

Laura Buxton

October 30 - mid December, 2007

The exhibition includes over 50 works by the accomplished painter with a primary focus on works illustrated in the book Ruined Landscapes, Paintings of the Balkan War Zone.

     "It was the summer of 1994 when Laura Buxton, her conscience pricked by the tragedy in Bosnia-Herzegovina, hitchhiked alone through the Balkans. Tossing her boards and bag of painting gear into the backseat of little cars, she attempted to answer her drivers' questions in a polyglot of English, French, Italian, and Slavic.
     When she reached her destination, Mostar—formerly a great cultural crossroads, now cynically nicknamed the "Beirut of the Balkans"—her conscience and her purpose were no more clear.Initially, she planned to execute a few sketches of the places and people she encountered, but she found herself extremely depressed by the human catastrophe. "I had to make a big decision," she later said. "Either I would give up the whole idea of painting—which I came very close to doing, because I didn't think I was able to paint anything of consequence—and offer myself full-time to a relief agency, or else just let myself feel selfish and go on and paint. I chose the painting."
     The Locals were glad she did. Unlike the mob of journalists, who were the object of nonpartisan scorn, Buxton lived among the people. She painted for four months, leaving only when the cease-fire collapsed; she later returned for a second visit. Children thronged about her as if she were the Pied Piper. Soldiers on night patrol sat on pieces of wreckage and sipped coffee while they watched her paint. "To je slikarka!" — "Its' the painter!" —the people would call.
     Ruined Landscapes is Buxton's Balkan legacy. Her curiously unpeopled paintings capture the tragedy of what was ultimately a war on culture and history. Whether one values these works most for their artistry, their lessons in history, or their wake-up call to aid one's fellow man, it is indeed fortunate that Laura Buxton resolved to stay and paint."

-Ruined Landscapes, Paintings of the Balkan War Zone