Oil and Earth


Environmental art activist Rory Terrell will be exhibiting new works from his series Oil and Earth, at the Firehouse Art Collective’s Lottie Rose Gallery. Opening reception from 5–9 pm on April 9th and show runs to May 7th 2016. Rory Terrell is a multidiscipline artist that is best known for creating a new form of oil painting by repurposing used motor oil and dirt as medium. His conceptual artwork is juxtaposing the ugly truth of pollution by making something beautiful with a rich depth and deep meaning. Oil and Earth is a cultural documentation of our current paradigm of the wasteful use of hydrocarbon and mismanagement of its extraction process.

Oil and Earth is a body of work that brings attention to the hundreds of documented oil spills that have happened in our environment since the first documented oil spill in 1910. The number of incidents has steadily increased with more and more destruction in their wake with an estimated 56.7 million barrels of oil spilled. Rory utilizes the crisp black quality of the used motor oil within the acrylic containers to bring the viewer into the artwork. The deep black reflective image of you and your surroundings stair back at you as you gaze into the layers of sand, dirt, clay and chalk. The viewer becomes a part of the artwork, just as we are all a part of the pollution being inflicted around us.

The Lottie Rose House is a part of the Firehouse Art Collective. It is a work/live art space that has been putting on art shows in its gallery every month since it opened in June of 2014. With art openings every second Saturday of each month, this location offers a comfortable atmosphere with a professional touch. Bringing together the community of the Golden Gate District, the Lottie Rose Gallery is becoming a destination for viewing and interacting with contemporary artists working in the East Bay.

Rory Terrell is a river rat from Boise Idaho. He now resides in Oakland and is a core member of the Firehouse Art Collective, Art Director for BREAD - a youth chess and art club, and artistic associate for Ragged Wing Ensemble. Rory has shown his artwork in Idaho, Washington, and California. His artwork has been in the Berkeley Civic Center’s annual yearlong exhibition for 2014-2015. For the past 5 years he has been making artwork about environmental issues and focuses his work on using reclaimed material.

We invite you to come to the Lottie Rose Gallery for a surreal look into environmental artwork, at 6117 San Pablo Ave in Oakland this April 9th to witness a new form of art and pollution. You can meet the artist and the great community surrounding him. View some of his artwork at www.rorscreations.com and/or contact Rory at roryterrell@gmail.com

Phone: 208-789-7867