The title of this exhibition of new work by Emily Mason, Opened Jars, might seem enigmatic at first. After all, what do paintings have to do with jars? In point of fact, the title is surprisingly revelatory, both of the artist’s own imaginative wit and of the unending delight she takes in making and sharing new discoveries in her art. There is a thrill of finding which fruit is in a jar of jam or what vegetable the pickling brine contains in a jar put aside in a season past. Encountering new work by Emily Mason holds a similar excitement of expectation: anticipation followed by captivating surprise when “the jar is opened” and new paintings are fully revealed.
