April 23, 2025

Al Fresco | Featuring Teresa Roche, Kate Blohm, and Rachael Nerney Reese

al fres · co
Adverb (especially with reference to eating) in the open air.

This spring, The Miller Gallery invites you to step into the spirit of the season with Al Fresco —a group exhibition inspired by open air, artful tablescapes, and the joy of summer soirées. Opening May 2, the show brings together new works from three multidisciplinary artists: Teresa Roche, Kate Blohm, and Rachael Nerney Reese.

Blending painting, photography, and thoughtful design, Al Fresco captures the beauty of life’s small, shared moments—meals enjoyed outdoors, light drifting across a table, the quiet poetry of objects gathered with intention. Each artist brings a distinct perspective to the theme, offering pieces that feel intimate, textural, and rooted in both place and memory.

Teresa Roche

Teresa Roche is a self-taught mixed media artist working in acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, oil pastels, and collage. Based in Greenville, SC, she creates from her gallery-studio, drawing inspiration from memory and nostalgia. Her layered process—building up paint, then sanding or scratching back into it—echoes the act of unearthing personal stories and transforming them into abstract, visual expressions.

From Teresa:

"When Kayla approached me about doing the group show with Rachael Nerney and Kate Blohm she threw out the idea of this show as an elevated garden party with notes of travel, European gardens, tablescapes, al fresco dining, and gatherings. I was all in!!

My childhood memories of very large (20 + relatives) impromptu meals at my grandmother's house came racing back as they always do. Those meals were some of my best memories. At the time, I had no idea what my Grandmother and Aunt put into those meals and how much work behind the scenes went into the preparation. As I know now, it was a true act of love and a feat in itself just to gather everyone together, much less prepare the meal. Then meals were never fancy and one of the things I loved most was choosing my plate. The mixture of old, new, chipped and worn was a feast for my eyes.

Fast forward about 60 years and today my artwork and my textiles and wallpapers are still an amalgamation of those priceless memories. I often find myself focused more on the actual dinnerware and what is left on the stack of plates when the meal is over than the chatter that goes on for days around the table.

I have been so fortunate to continue that tradition with my family although the group is much smaller.  I've traveled in the US and to Spain, Italy and France where my attention has been turned to how people around the world gather and celebrate.  One thing I've landed on and is that everyone loves a picnic!  I am hungrier when I'm dining alfresco it seems.  The travel has also broadened my horizon with European ceramics and pottery and I find that the plate the food comes on and the little clay vases that hold the centerpieces are often my focus.

For this exhibit, Rachael and Kate and I gathered together to brainstorm, mood board, and photograph some of our favorite tableware, textiles and foods. That same weekend, I still remained focused on the leftovers, the crumbs of food and all that remained -- but mostly the shared joy of our experience!" - Roche

"I approached this body of work with light-hearted purity and controlled precision - the foundation became the pieces and parts of the whole "Al Fresco" experience -- not just the act of gathering around to eat, drink and be merry.  With my abstracted mixed-media technique and collage making process, I started with deconstructing my Sorolla pattern.  The Sorolla pattern was imagined and inspired by a creative retreat in Soria, Spain.   As I cut away some of my favorite motifs, a new pattern formed and Madrid was born. Madrid and Sorolla are features of this new body of work.  That retreat experience in Soria was life changing and being with other creatives who notice and pick apart every little minute detail of a meal -- from the cracks in the dinnerware, the syrupy strawberry colored sauce, to the lonely petal left in the bud vase left me longing for more of the same.  It's true that everybody loves a picnic and I do too -  but gathering items for set-up, the remains and the leftovers are always what brings the fascination after the fabulous gathering."

Kate Blohm

Kate Blohm is a Charleston-based photographer and visual storyteller whose work celebrates the beauty of everyday life with a lens of joy, curiosity, and intentional design. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, her work has been featured in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Elle DECOR, Forbes, and more. A 2018 Les Dames d’Escoffier Grant recipient, Blohm draws inspiration from travel, interiors, and coastal living, creating imagery that is atmospheric, emotive, and grounded in thoughtful storytelling.

From Kate:

"This collection holds a deeply personal significance for me, as it represents a body of work gathered and nurtured over an extended period of time. When The Miller Gallery approached me with the concept for Al Fresco, and the chance to collaborate with Rachael and Teresa, it felt like a convergence of so many of the things I love; food, travel, and two of my favorite artists. The opportunity to present this work in conversation with two incredibly talented women, whose practices I admire, is an absolute honor.

Over the years, I’ve had the joy of working with both Rachael and Teresa, both together and separately, and our shared history has formed a creative language that feels intuitive and deeply rooted. What ties us all together, in a very fundamental way, is a common origin story: we each grew up around the table. Often, that table was set outdoors, under the trees, beside the water, or under an ever-changing sky. The act of gathering, eating, talking, and simply being in those spaces formed a foundation for our way of appreciating the ritual of dining al fresco.

Later, experiencing the culture of outdoor living in European settings, where it isn’t just occasional but essential, and woven into the rhythm of daily life, created a constant source of inspiration every time I walked around a new place. This body of work is a personal reflection and a celebration of this way of living: slow, intentional, communal, and deeply connected to place and season." - Blohm

Rachael Nerney Reese

Rachael Nerney Reese is a visual artist who captures the fleeting beauty of food and gathering through bold color, pattern, and light. A SCAD-trained illustrator, her passion for culinary subjects blossomed while creating artwork for Whole Foods Market Inc. Today, she works from her home studio in Charleston, SC, where inspiration flows from local farmers markets, fresh herbs in her kitchen, and the simple pleasures of everyday meals.

From Rachael:

"I approached with collection with curiosity as my driving force. I am continually drawn to similar imagery of both food and tablescapes. Here, I wanted to play around with florals and decorative motifs more than the culinary features themselves. When we initially discussed what subject might harmonize our works, we had a delicious list of inspiration from wine bottles, pastries, coffee, florals, to citrus.

My personal highlight creating this collection was playing around in the mixed media space collaboratively and personally. I created mini illustrations for Teresa to use within her collage work. If you look closely, you'll see the tails of shrimp, bits of soft boiled eggs, and small strawberries strewn throughout her pieces.

I wanted to embody Teresa's lighthearted approach to art making in my own work. She graciously gave me a stack of pieces of her custom designed fabric. I then took these textiles and wove them into my own narratives. I cut out illustrations on paper and assembled them into their own narratives. I know that this is a departure from my typical work, but I am so pleased with the experience I had creating them. I felt tapped back into my childhood self.

My paintings on canvas and panels are an extension of my tablescape and still life series. I used images from our photoshoot with Kate as my leaping off point for painting references. These images helped me determine my favorite perspectives, subject matter, and light sources. While none are exact replicas of Kate's photographs, they are heavily inspired by her eye for composition and color." - Reese

Exhibition Details: 
Opening Reception: Friday, May 2, 2025
Time: 4–7 PM Location: The Miller Gallery, 1640 Meeting Street Road, Ste. 102 
Artists: Teresa Roche, Kate Blohm, Rachael Nerney Reese

Whether you’re coming for the artwork, the ambiance, or a bit of both—we’d love to welcome you Al Fresco.