The Middletown Arts Center is thrilled to present the work of book illustrator and Middletown resident, Toby Gowing, from April 1–27, 2022. The exhibition, Toby Gowing, Illustrations, will feature nearly 50 of the artist’s illustrations spanning from 1980 to 2010, as well as several of her still life paintings. In honor of Gowing’s love for books, a Meet the Artist Reception will be held on Sunday, April 3, 2022, from 3-5 p.m. to kick off “National Library Week” (April 3–9, 2022). The event is free and open to the public.
In collaboration with the Middletown Township Public Library, a videotaped, guided tour of the exhibition will be available on the Middletown Arts Center and the Library websites at www.middletownarts.org and www.mtpl.org. During the tour, Gowing will explain her process of book illustration, as well as give background on select pieces of artwork and insight into her work experiences. Additionally, the Library will host a special teen night led by Gowing entitled How to Become an Illustrator on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at 7 p.m.
“Illustration gives imagery to words, just as lyrics give imagery to music.” – Toby Gowing
For over 30 years, Toby Gowing has worked as a professional illustrator specializing in books for children and young adults. After graduating from Pratt Institute, she began her career in New York City, creating book covers for many publishers including Atheneum, Scholastic and Scribners. In 1986, Gowing moved to Middletown, where she found a new subject for her portraits – local children in the neighborhood who would pose for her.
Avis Berman, writer, curator, and historian of American art, architecture and culture, describes Gowing’s work in the essay, Thirty Years of Painting:
“These paintings are united by their sense of drama, a commitment to finding a moment or an incident that conveys maximum emotion. Gowing’s work features brave or strong-minded children, making their own decisions, getting a flash of insight, leading an adventure, or defying their circumstances. Grown-ups play a secondary role, in keeping with a major theme of so many of these stories: the power of young adults shaping their worlds, whether humdrum or touched by magic. Illustration is a collaborative art form—the illustrator works to distill the author’s meaning so that words move from the page into a concrete moment or incident visualized from the story. Toby mostly uses oil paint in all of her work, allowing her to more easily make revisions with the slow-drying medium, as well as take advantage of the range and richness of colors that suit her realistic style.”
