Sinn brings enchantment and intrigue to Lake Eustis Museum of Art

Eustis – Winter Park artist Henry Sinn fills Lake Eustis Museum of Art and Eustis City Hall Gallery with INTRIGUE, ENCHANTMENT & SINN, dramatic, eclectic paintings, fabric and bead art, along with larger- than- life painted figures and small, quirky sculpted entities.

The exhibit opens with a reception in both venues from 6 – 9 p.m. July 9 and closes Aug. 9, 2009. The opening allows Sinn to give firsthand insight into the manifestation of his subconscious populated with people and humanized creatures in exotic, fable-like locations engaged in mysterious interactions.

With a posh palette and unequaled imagination, Sinn, head of the department of painting and drawing at Crealde School of Art, has lorded over his personal underworld of artistic intrigue since the 1980s. With his bachelor’s degree  in painting from Rollins College and extensive studies with his mentor, revered painter, sculptor and assemblage artist Grady Kimsey, of Winter Park, Sinn is an extraordinary visual communicator.

His recent painting Phoenix depicts a regal, winged, red creature with eyes cast beyond a swirling blue and pink background, destined to advance with dignity and hope into the future.

Sinn explains the work saying, “In the worst of times the best of humanity shines. Steadfastness above turmoil, concern above apathy, courage above connivance, faith above fanaticism. What in easy days is carelessly pass over as ‘the way things are’ is suddenly and carefully reassessed, worth against dross. In difficult times we relearn to communicate, to send messages of belief and to find again that what weighs us down lifts us up.”

As a child, Sinn “always had that bent to fantasize and create an image in my head. Occasionally, I will be inspired by something. Mostly, things just come to me. I have to be in the right stage of consciousness to let those things come out almost metaphysically. Almost always, I am surprised to take a second look (at a piece) and think, ‘Oh, that’s what I was thinking of.’”

He has a special affinity for animals. “I love them and sometimes assign them human qualities,” Sinn says. “In the last 10 years, I have slowly come to use a different side of my brain and my hands to make sculptures such as my beaded Snake. It all comes together in a different way. With painting, your brain is always working.”

Visitors to Orlando International Airport may walk across Sinn’s massive floor mosaic, Field of Ferns. His work is exhibited and collected in the Southeast, with representation in more than 20 significant corporate collections including Wyndham Hotel-Austin, Westin Hotel-Chicago, Orlando City Hall, SunTrust, Corp., and Cornell Museum in Winter Park. 

For more information, see www.LakeEustisMuseumofArt.org or call 352-483-2900.

Lake Eustis Museum of Art, 200 B East Orange Ave., Eustis, FL 32726 is open weekdays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., closed Monday and open Saturday and Sunday noon – 4. Openings and general admission are free to art museum members and $5 for non-members.  Eustis City Hall Gallery is open during city business hours.
                                                                                               

Funded by Membership, Sponsorship and Donations. Supported in part by United Arts of Central Florida, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, City of Eustis, Lake County and Florida Arts Council.

All photos copyright and Courtesy of Henry Sinn.