Sonya Diimmler painting exhibit to open August 5 at Rob Shaw Framing and Gallery

July 20, 2022

On Friday, August 5, from 6 to 9 p.m., Rob Shaw Framing and Gallery, 324 State Street in West Columbia, will host an opening reception for an August exhibit of works by Sonya Diimmler. The exhibit will hang until August 24.

Known locally for her dramatic use of color, Diimmler paints South Carolina landscapes and abstracts along with her favorite subjects and muses, her bulldog Smedley and her Boston Terrier Mattie. Her work has earned awards at the SC State Fair, at the Union County Arts Council, and at the Crooked Creek Art League, where she serves as the workshop coordinator and is a past president.

Her body of work Seeking Solace was featured in a solo show at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in 2021.

Regardless of the subject, “painting is an emotional and physical response to the world,” Diimmler asserts. “I paint what excites me—most often dogs or cloudscapes.” Deriving satisfaction from “line and gesture,” she prefers painting “large and loose without regard for the details of realism.” Her goal is “to convey energy and joy to the viewer.”

Rob Shaw Framing and Gallery, which opened in April of 2019, is a full-service frame shop and fine art gallery. The gallery’s monthly exhibits showcase South Carolina’s many talented artists with diverse styles.

Following Diimmler’s exhibit, the gallery will feature a pop-up show for work by Dr. Seuss from August 26-28.