Sybil Topel, MFA

Family history, commercial art, and architectural photographers shaped my fine art aesthetic.

My work lands in three areas:

• quirky/humorous juxtapositions

• pop culture layered with art references

• emotionally charged landscapes

The Hunter Museum’s Spectrum Art Committee selected "Betty’s," a fine art photograph featuring the Americana image of Betty's fireworks in Florala, for its prestigious art auction. It sold at four times its original price. Designed to spark a smile, the work captures a disappearing part of the South, businesses off the beaten path with quirky slogans.

The Edwin Hotel’s art buyer selected three works for its boutique hotel across from the Hunter Museum, installing them on the third floor landing. Two sister artists have chosen my work titled "Breakthrough" to provide them with inspiration in their work, an honor and a delight.

Connecting with people, inspiring and providing hope drives my art – looking for those details that tell a story. I’m honored that art collectors from Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, New York, and Tennessee find pleasure in my work.

About that family history . . . Color fascination runs in my DNA – an irrepressible urge to express emotion through art. Before my father picked up his first camera, his mother took cast-off fabric from our family’s favorite garments and created fantastic quilt tops – swirls of ‘double-wedding ring’ patterns and squares of bright ‘log cabin’ blocks – her palette choices as sure as those of Georgia O’Keeffe. While her quilts hang in the Tennessee Museum and in a museum in Kentucky, my father’s faux Kandinsky tableau hangs in my living room, inspiring me.