RSM Gallery is proud to present Conjuring, by Charles Suggs. The exhibit features Suggs’ smoke paintings- black and white portraits of the artist’s friends, family, and strangers. In 2018, Charles Suggs learned about drawing with candle smoke while visiting Cape Town, South Africa. In 2020, During the Covid 19 lockdown, he decided to take time to explore this technique. It has become a primary medium for the artist, playing a significant and persistent role in his projects.

To create each portrait, the artist works from recollections and photographs. He starts with a detailed under-drawing, which is quickly subsumed by the fast-moving smoke. The haunting images created by this process offer striking details set amongst softer edges. The features concealed and revealed in the drawing process speak to loss and connection. The ambiguities within the portraits allow viewers to discover the semblance of someone familiar. This process of recognition stirs associations for the viewer. The dark, evanescent, and uncontrollable smoke is a metaphor for memory.

The RSM Gallery is located on the main floor of the Bentley University Library, Building 54 on the campus map, its clock tower sets it apart from the other buildings of the upper campus. Park in the La Cava Parking Lot for best access if driving.

The Gallery is open during Library Hours