FORCE OF NATURE
Carolyn Marks Blackwood Ice Cubism VI, 2023, Archival pigment print, 30 x 45 inches Edition of 3 plus 1 AP
Force of Nature
July 23rd - September 7th, 2024
Spanierman Modern is pleased to announce the group exhibition, Force of Nature, featuring work by Carolyn Marks Blackwood, Stanley Boxer, Nathan Brujis, Marco Casentini, Dan Christensen, Janet Filomeno, Raphaёlle Goethals, Teo Gonzalez, Susan Grossman, Inness Hancock, Felrath Hines, Catherine Howe, Carol Hunt, Mark Kornbluth, Andy Moses, Erin Parish, and Diane Walker-Gladney.
The force of nature is normally thought of as a catastrophic, destructive occurrence beyond the control of mankind. This exhibition hopes to illuminate just the opposite. Much of the art we know and love is inspired by nature. However, the depiction of the landscape was not a recognized art form in the Western canon until the Renaissance and its growing interest in the material world.
It was not until the seventeenth century that artists such as Poussin and Lorrain sought to elevate the reputation of the movement through classical, idealized paintings that represented Arcadia from Ancient Greek mythology. To show the importance of the landscape in art, artists included the attachment of metaphorical meaning to natural elements, the representation of mythical and religious stories set in nature, and the overarching theme of the heroic power of nature over mankind. By the nineteenth century, Romantic artists imbued their compositions with passion and drama to create a more realistic representation of the world that surrounded them instead of the idyllic, balanced paintings of the previous centuries. Painting en plein air came into style in the mid-nineteenth century due to the invention of portable canvases and easels so artists could situate themselves outside. This led to a more expressionistic and subjective depiction of their surroundings as they favored capturing the essence of their world and how they found spiritual meaning in the wonders of nature.
Cezanne’s revolutionary paintings and his introduction of geometric forms as an avenue to create volume paved the way for modern artists to depart dramatically from previous standards of landscape painting. Renaissance artists employed techniques to overcome the obstacle of the two-dimensional plane to create the illusion of a three-dimensional space with depth into a recessed background. Abstract painting rejects this idea and instead emphasizes that the artwork is on a twodimensional surface: it is an object that occupies space in the material world. Despite the desertion of traditional techniques, abstracted landscapes can be considered a more truthful representation of the natural world because they attempt to capture the literal essence of the physical space instead of presenting an idealized, harmoniously balanced fabrication.
Pollock’s controversial, groundbreaking, and colossal drip paintings can also be considered in this larger discussion of landscape painting, even if works such as Enchanted Forest, Autumn Rhythm, and Lavender Mist can only be identified as such from their titles. In his early education and career, as a student of Thomas Hart Benton, Pollock painted a handful of representational paintings before his technique evolved into what is now known as Abstract Expressionism. This new movement was diametrically opposed to everything art had previously been. The lasting influence of Pollock and the Abstract Expressionist movement can be seen in many of the works included in this show. The style completely rejected definition and representation. Instead, artists desired to shift their focus to the expression of strong emotions through broad, sweeping, gestural brush strokes across vast canvases. The completed works become a record of the physical process that created them. The lack of any hierarchy of elements, subject matter, or a central focal point on which one can focus generates a sense of flux, reminiscent of the everchanging, impermanence of nature.
Today’s artists have the unique privilege of choosing the subject of their works as they are not dependent upon commissions from royal courts or religious organizations. Therefore, the choice to participate in landscape painting implies a level of importance and connection to the subject. The contemplation of nature has always been a convention through which to consider the individual and the broader theme of human interaction with the world. Nature is a force that has always existed and will continue to exist with or without the presence of Man. Although Man is consistently preoccupied with the consideration of nature, he is insignificant to that great force. Through the exploration of one’s world, one can uncover new truths about themselves.
Force of Nature features works encompassing all facets of modern representations of landscapes, from photography that presents the world as fact, to abstracted works that significantly depart from their source material. The artists in this show take an individual approach to their depictions of the world in which they exist. Regardless of whether they create representational or abstracted works, the respective processes each artist follows maintain the original philosophies of the art form: it is essentially a form of meditation and consideration of how we impact upon and interact with the environment.
Carolyn Marks Blackwood
As a successor to The Hudson River School, Carolyn Marks Blackwood introduces an abstract lens through which she views the ephemeral nature of the Hudson Valley. She presents the viewer with a detailed perspective of the various elements of nature as they are affected by seasonal change, time of day, and the weather. The photographs contain an undeniable painterly aspect as she re-presents details of nature that typically go unnoticed. Through her focus on color fields, geometric abstraction, and flattened motifs, the viewer is confronted with an image that is altogether familiar and unfamiliar. Her photographs depart from tradition in that they concentrate on a singular detail –such as light reflecting on the water, birds, or pieces of ice– as opposed to the sprawling, all-encompassing landscapes of her predecessors. The prioritization of the singular, abstracted fragment allows for the exploration of the isolated subject as it is transformed through the constant shifts of the conditions of nature.
Carolyn Marks Blackwood was born in Anchorage, Alaska. In addition to fine art photography, Carolyn is a screenwriter and film producer with her partner Gabriel Tana for their production company, Magnolia Mae Films, and for Brouhaha. Blackwood's work has been exhibited extensively in California, Spain, and New York. She currently lives on a 120foot cliff overlooking the Hudson River, in the Hudson Valley, New York.
Carolyn Marks Blackwood On the Edge, 2024, Archival pigment print, 40 x 60 inches Edition of 3 plus 1 AP
Stanley Boxer (1926-2000)
Stanley Boxer (1926-2000) stood firmly outside the realm of definition with his paintings that sought to explore the material qualities of paint itself. In his early career, Boxer was labeled a Color Field Painter by critics, yet he rejected this label and shifted his work to focus on materials and process art. His mature works are characterized by dense surfaces built up of thickly brushed globs of paint and a myriad of material additions including sand, glitter, sawdust, wood shavings, and beads. Boxer displayed no bias towards his choice of materials included in his canvases. He was more interested in the final product and its effect on the viewer rather than the materials producing the narrative. His goal, above all else, was to create new forms that excited the eye as opposed to any type of literalist statement. His works inspired conflicting criticism, with some claiming his paintings displayed minimalist tendencies, while others believed his inclusiveness and application of paint built up a sense of drama that climaxed in front of the viewer. The gestural strokes of thick paint are repeated across his canvases infinitely until they are transformed into a singular entity. Art critic Grace Glueck, in an attempt to categorize the artist, claimed that his abstraction could be simultaneously interpreted as works of landscape and reflections on the pure realm of paint. Boxer’s works can be considered part of the movement of Lyrical Abstraction. The American branch of the movement was defined by art collector Larry Aldrich in 1969. He had collected works that he believed represented a return to personal expression and experimentation following the Minimalist movement. It is important to note that Lyrical Abstraction was not a return to any specific previous style but rather a return to a more painterly nature that resulted in “beautiful” works, a word that had been adamantly rejected by the movements of the 1960s. Although abstract art conveys emotional content, lyrical abstraction is more concerned with a larger spiritual outlook. Works in this genre contain a personal aspect of the artists’ touch and are unrelated to objective reality.
Stanley Boxer was born in Brooklyn, New York. His formal education took place at the Art Students League of New York where he was trained in various mediums. Throughout his career, his honors included the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant in 1989, and the election as a full member of the National Academy of Design in 1993. Boxer’s works may be found in noted private and public collections in the United States and abroad.
Summeringsimmeredpeale, 1984, Oil on canvas, 75 x 60 inches
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Stanley Boxer
Nathan
Brujis
Nathan Brujis has developed a visual language that mirrors a sensation of the expressive power of the subconscious and the spiritual. Starting from simple geometric forms and gestural brushstrokes arranged in layers, Brujis’ voyage solidifies into a multidimensional discovery of opposing forces, an embodiment of the universal fabric as seen through the eyes of the artist. His works abandon direct representation of recognizable objects in favor of abstract forces, an expressive lyrical experience of instant reaction with subconscious images. Each painting is a process of discovery. Some works find themselves quickly, while others have layers exploring the density of time and take months to make.
Nathan Brujis was born in Lima, Peru. He studied art and philosophy at Brandeis University and graduated from the American University of Washington DC with a Master's degree. He has been awarded important art prizes such as the Deborah Josepha Cohen Memorial Award for Excellence in Painting in 1992, the New York Studio School Faculty Award in 1994, il Premio per la Pittura Lorenzo il Magnifico at the Florence Biennale dell’Arte Contemporanea in 2001 and 2003. He has exhibited extensively in New York, Lima, Peru, and Italy. He currently lives and works in New York.
Signed lower left
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Nathan Brujis
Djin and the Desert Rivers, 2022, Oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Marco Casentini
Marco Casentini is an Italian abstract painter and author. His paintings are elegant, minimal studies of geometric abstraction through intensely saturated colors and strong lines. He is often inspired by an experience tied to landscapes or urban scenes in Italy and California. He is influenced by Hard-Edge abstraction, “Finish Fetish” minimalism, and Pop Art. His work leaves the viewer with an impression or emotion, rather than a concrete scene image. He uses the juxtaposition of color, light, and geometry to convey that which he finds in his everyday life.
Marco Casentini was born in La Spezia, Italy. He studied at the College of Art, Carrara and the Accademia di Belle Arti, Carrara. He was awarded the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2005 for outstanding artistic contributions. In 2010 he was awarded the Premio PEA, Lerici for his writing. He has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. He currently divides his time between Los Angeles and Milan, where he teaches at the Accademia di Belle Arte di Brera.
Marco Casentini
White Nights, 2024, Acrylic on aluminum plate, 49 x 47 inches
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Dan Christensen (1942-2007)
Dan Christensen (1942-2007 expanded the language of modernism. His inspirations came from various Modern sources and his idiosyncratic techniques created monumental paintings that reflect his myriad processes. Christensen went through numerous artistic transitions throughout his career. He would discover a problem, dedicate all of his time and effort to it, and just as soon as the solution had been found he would immediately pivot in a new direction to something radically different. His career can be summarized as backtracking and simultaneously moving forward, as he would often return to a previous idea and explore it until it had become something new entirely. His consistent theme was creating paintings that discussed the act of painting itself. His methods are commonly associated with Abstract Expressionism and action painting as his physical involvement in each work is apparent. New Africa represents a period in which Christensen would apply layers of acrylic paint to his canvases before manipulating them with miscellaneous tools to create depth and texture. The grain of the canvas is visible through the recessed layers of acrylics, physically grounding the work as a two-dimensional, nonrepresentative object. The painting is framed with lines of spray paint and splatters of acrylic paint.
Dan Christensen was born in 1942 in Cozad, Nebraska. He was represented by André Emmerich Gallery and Salander/O’Reilly Gallery before moving to Spanierman Modern in 2007. Christensen was able to enjoy the opening of a retrospective show, held by Spanierman Modern, with works spanning his forty-year-long career before his passing. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute before he moved to New York City in the 1960s. He quickly found fame when he began producing his “linear spray paintings” in 1967. His paintings were included in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s annual exhibitions in 1967, 1969, and 1972, along with the first biennial exhibition in 1973. Christensen was specifically identified as part of the Lyrical Abstraction movement by Larry Aldrich and participated in the collective exhibition hosted by the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in 1970. His works were also featured in more than seventy-five solo exhibitions. Today his works can be found in important museum collections in the United States and Europe.
Dan Christensen
New Africa, 1985, Acrylic on canvas, 97 1/2 x 65 1/2 inches
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Janet Filomeno
Janet Filomeno is best known for her large-scale gestural abstract paintings that employ nature as a point of departure from which to create non-representational images with metaphorical references. In particular, her landscapes center around water and its rich associations with themes of birth, life, and death. Her current location allows her access to the Delaware River where she can study the constant change and movement of water. She views the river as her stage onto which she can project her inner drama, a response to her world. The work selected for this show is from Filomeno’s most recent series, Blue Crystals Revisited, in which she sought to expand upon her previous Blue Crystals Series. In both series, nature is embodied through translucent sapphire blues that reflect the sensation of troubled waters. Her physical process recalls Abstract Expressionism and action painting as a stretched canvas is laid on the floor before chosen materials are poured and flung onto it while the artist and the canvas move around the studio space. The physicality of the procedure reenacts the unpredictable movement of water.
Janet Filomeno was born in New York, New York. She received her Bachelor’s of Art from SUNY Albany, her Master’s of Art from Montclair State University, and her Master’s of Fine Art from Vermont College of Fine Art. Filomeno has been a part of solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad. Her works can be found in numerous public and private collections across the United States, including the Michener Art Museum, the SUNY Albany Museum, and the Montclair Art Museum. She currently lives and works in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
Janet Filomeno
Blue Crystals Revisited no. 10, 2018, Acrylic ink, acrylic paint, mica powder, and shellac on canvas, 50 x 60 inches Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Raphaëlle Goethals
Raphaëlle Goethals creates lyrical, multi-layered painterly abstractions utilizing a highly refined mix of hot and cold encaustic technique uniquely her own. Over nearly three decades, she established her own vocabulary in the form of distinctive groups of paintings, which evolved concurrently. Goethals is interested in a blurring of boundaries. At the intersection of the minimal and the expressive, her sensuous surfaces dive into the evolution of consciousness. Drawing from minimalist practice, her obsessive mark-making weaves surfaces building slowly over time, like strata on the earth. Addressing our times, Goethals’ complex and meticulous paintings vibrate with a sense of rhythm and lyrical beauty offering viewers a range of psychological and aesthetic experiences. Her work resists classification, it neither explains nor denies any representation yet strongly evokes the natural forces and atmospheric elements. The all-encompassing, physical, repetitive, and labor-intensive practice is seen in remnants that saturate the work with an undeniable aura, stripped of any unnecessary additions. The internalized landscape becomes a celebration of flux, memory, and the passage of time.
Raphaëlle Goethals (b.1958 in Brussels, Belgium) graduated from L’école Le75 and moved to Los Angeles in 1981 to further her formal education at the Otis Art Institute. Attracted to the vastness of the landscape and the quality of light, she relocated to New Mexico in 1994 where she developed her mature painting style. Through her nearly thirty years career, she has continued to exhibit in Santa Fe, New York, San Francisco and Dallas. She is represented in numerous private and public collections including the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the New Mexico Museum of Fine Art, Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, Boise Art Museum, and the Grace Museum.
Raphaelle Goethals
Deluge II, 2024, Encaustic on panel, 60 x 48 inches
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Teo Gonzalez
Teo Gonzalez investigates landscape through the everpresent foundation of the modernist grid. The grid anchors each of Gonzalez’s works, the pattern onto which he applies thousands of drops of water, and then meticulously places a small dot of ink or enamel inside each droplet before the work is left to dry. His paintings recall Abstract Expressionism with the utilization of the pictorial field and his explorations of color. They also are undeniably related to Minimalism with his repetitive process and fixation on the grid. Gonzalez notes that an important facet of his paintings is their contradictory nature; evident in his choice to employ the grid to produce landscape paintings. The two appear to be in opposition as their respective ideologies conflict with each other. The grid defines Modern art. It declares art as a self-contained object that is defined by the sum of its parts. It is deployed by artists in the pursuit of a reflection on the world in which that art exists. Conversely, landscape painting calls back to representational techniques and traditions where the pursuit of those artists was to overcome the challenges of the two-dimensional canvas and represent the natural world. A landscape painting realized through the grid forces the traditional genre to be reinvestigated through the lens of Modernism.
Teo Gonzalez was born in the small town of Quinto, Spain in 1964. Shortly after the development of his signature style at the tail end of 1990 and his subsequent move to Southern California, one of Gonzalez’s works was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. He studied fine art at the California State University, from where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1997. Teo Gonzalez currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
dated
Teo Gonzalez
Large Arch/Horizon Painting 2, 2016, Acrylic on canvas over board, 60 x 60 inches
Signed and
on the verso
Susan Grossman
Susan Grossman approaches landscape through a minimalistic palette of black, white, and gray with the occasional appearance of a primary color. Her process begins with reference photographs of subjects and locations. After a return to the studio, painting begins and draws directly from the source materials before Grossman allows the artistic process to take over and create a unique narrative world. Elements of the original location are repositioned, created from nothing, or eliminated to achieve the final product. The physicality of the technique saturates the final product with a sense of action that feels as though one is witnessing something completed only moments before. Grossman’s landscapes are created to be intentionally ambiguous and allow each viewer to form an unbiased reading of the work. Although one can assume where the source material came from, there are no identifying factors– such as street signs or even faces– that allow for a singular conclusion. Her open and non-specific narratives leave the viewer with a sense of unease as it is clear that much is implied throughout the image, yet the viewer walks away without any sense of resolution.
Susan Grossman graduated from Bennington College and received her Master’s in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College. She has taught at Wesleyan University, the City College of New York, and the National Academy of Design School. Her work can be found in numerous private and public collections throughout the United States, including the Mint Museum in North Carolina, and the New York Historical Society. She currently works in Brooklyn, New York.
Susan Grossman
Reveal, 2024, Charcoal and pastel on paper mounted on board, 60 x 50 inches
Signed and dated on the verso
Inness Hancock
Inness Hancock’s landscapes begin with an on-site study of a location through watercolors or sketches. Throughout, Hancock takes care to consider the history and energy of the space to form a personal connection that is translated into her large-scale abstract oil paintings. Her painting process focuses on the transparency and gesture of her movements. The dynamic and bold paintings she creates contrast her subtle, defined color palettes. Hancock’s reflection of the outside world allows her to reveal truths about her inner spirit. Themes evident throughout her oeuvre include mythology, the feminine perspective, and the depth of human emotion and experience. Her paintings reproduce not only the visual experience of the world but also the inner landscape of the human mind and spirit.
Inness Hancock studied art and philosophy at the University of Southern California and the College of Charleston. Her works are included in numerous private and high-profile art collections and have been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums. She lives and works in Bedford, New York, and Northeast Harbor, Maine.
Inness Hancock Morning Light, 2024, Oil on canvas, 60 x 60 inches Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Felrath Hines (1913-1993)
Felrath Hines (1913-1993) believed that painting was, above all else, a personal pursuit. Hines’ lifelong interests in technical precision and harmonious colors were evident throughout his career. In the 40s and 50s, his figurative works were influenced by the Cubist movement, which in turn, was influenced by tribal African shields and masks. In the 60s he transitioned to expressionist landscapes, claiming that other artists were far better at rendering realistic images, so why not explore the abstract? Unsatisfied unless he was challenging himself, the 70s saw him begin to explore harmonious biomorphic forms. Once satisfied with that exploration, he turned to the De Stijl movement for further inspiration.
Felrath Hines was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1913. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York to study with the Russian modernist Nahum Tschacbasov. He later studied design at the Pratt Institute and New York University. In addition to his artistic oeuvre, Felrath Hines was known for his conservation work and opened his private practice in 1964. In 1972 he left New York for Washington, D.C. to become Chief Conservator of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery and later the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden until his eventual retirement in 1984. From that time to his death in 1993, he produced more paintings than the rest of his career combined.
Pond
Signed lower right
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Felrath Hines
, 1958, Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 inches
Catherine Howe
A preliminary look would lead one to assume that Catherine Howe’s paintings reference historic examples of still life against deep space or landscape with her recurrent figures reminiscent of flowers and vases. While the artist admits this connection, she explains that she is uninterested in representational painting. Instead, she views her process, which is both physical and intuitive, as an exercise in the evocative power of paint as a material. The abstracted figures are composed of various textures and densities with Howe’s spontaneous technique involving brushing, splattering, spilling, and sculpting the layers of paint. Her palette is varied and vibrant with shocking contrasts, amplified by the inclusion of metal leaf, that demand the attention and consideration of the viewer. The themes of her paintings can be considered as still life or landscape, however, the true theme is to energetically deploy the materials to reflect on painting and nature through the process itself.
Catherine Howe has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. Her body of work has been discussed in numerous publications. She was a Professor in the Graduate Painting Faculty at the New York Academy of Art until 2021. She currently lives and works in Manhattan and the Hudson Valley.
Catherine Howe
Silver Painting (Luminous Opera no.5), 2018, Acrylic, aluminum leaf, and pigments on canvas, 40 x 40 inches Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Carol Hunt
Carol Hunt was always torn between the figurative and the abstract until she saw an exhibit on Furoshiki, the art of Japanese wrapping. One box wrapped in a striped fabric captured her interest. The stripes meandered over the folds of the fabric creating a sinuous, colorful rhythm. This inspiration led to the stripes on her canvases being set free and evolving into loose brush strokes. Hunt is inspired by music, Asian art and the changing seasons and colors of her garden. While painting, she listens to instrumental music, particularly piano and artists with eastern inspired dissonance. As in a musical composition, each color represents an instrument. Brushstrokes build upon brushstrokes, adding, subtracting and combining until the composition makes a musical whole. Chinese and Japanese paintings, prints, and calligraphy are endlessly inspiring, with the color and composition of Japanese prints and the bold energy and gestures of Chinese sumi paintings and calligraphy. She finds that the graceful tree branches are akin to calligraphy.
Carol Hunt was born in Berkley, California. She studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts after receiving her A.B. from Regis College and graduate credits from the University of Vermont. She has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York. She received an Alumnae Achievement Award from Regis College and the 1st Purchase Award, selected by Henry Geldzahler for Republic National Bank. She currently lives and works in Southampton, New York.
Signed and dated lower right
Signed and titled on the verso
Carol Hunt
Apple Blossom Morning, 2009, Acrylic and ink on canvas, 72 x 60 inches
Mark S. Kornbluth
Whether it's a portrait of a historic building, a remote location on an island, a street corner in New York City, or a motel in the middle of nowhere, the images Mark S. Kornbluth creates share the same goal: to evoke in the viewer the same wonder and awe that he felt while exploring with his camera. The medium offers the unique opportunity to convey immediacy, vitality, and power found in an isolated moment. The personification of a scene involves the reflection of the myriad emotions that it expresses and elicits. The communication of this spectrum of feeling requires persistent and methodical studies and attempts, in service of the final frame. The minimization of visual cues we have all grown accustomed to when viewing night photos—including grain/noise, movement, and shallow depth of field—invites the viewer to have an immersive, tranquil, and contemplative experience. While maintaining fidelity to the original scene, he refines the photograph’s formal elements in subtle ways that bring harmony to the composition. Through the depiction of temporal human experience within natural and constructed environments, he continually aspires to convey something universal.
Mark S. Kornbluth was born in San Francisco. He received his Master’s in Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. Kornbluth’s professional career has included fine art, commercial, documentary, and event photography. He has been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York and Florida. He currently lives and works in New York, New York.
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Mark S. Kornbluth
Sunset - Nantucket #2, 2023, Dye sublimated on aluminum, 36 x 48 inches
Edition 1/10
Andy Moses
Each of Andy Moses’ paintings can be seen as a scientific inquiry into the physical properties of paint as it is manipulated through chemical reactions, viscosity interference, and gravity dispersion. This meeting of the technical and the natural results in a painting that mimics nature and its forces. Moses’ signature style consists of pearlescent pigments applied onto concave or convex canvas before being placed onto geometrically shaped wood panels. The works consider the relationship between space, shape, and light. The painting process is dependent on a back-and-forth series of reactions between the paint and Moses. He begins with a choice of colors that come from nature. Once a loose plan is formulated, the paint determines how Moses proceeds. Each work has a unique commencement and completion point. Moses walks around the canvas and pours paints from each side, attempting to fabricate the sensation that they are all moving toward the center of the composition. However, the paint does not always behave according to plan so Moses must constantly act and react to how the paint moves, the paint then shifts, reacting to this action, Moses reacts once again, and the process is repeated until a sense of completion is achieved. Moses draws inspiration from a variety of sources including J.M.W. Turner, and Mark Rothko, as well as California and the dizzying, infinite, shifting space seen where the water meets the horizon. His intention is not to literally translate that view but to create an image that acts upon the audience as that view has acted upon him. The beginnings of Moses’ signature style were pearlescent white paintings that merely hinted at the horizon. He then began to shape the canvasses into convex and concave forms to increase the hypnotic sensation he was searching for. Those first shaped paintings, completed in 2003, have inspired all the works he has created since.
Andy Moses was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended the California Institute of the Arts where he studied performance and film before beginning to paint in his third year. Postgrad, Moses moved to New York where he worked for the artist Pat Steir. He later moved to his studio where he developed an approach to process painting that was equal parts abstract and representational. Moses’ works have been exhibited extensively in New York, Los Angeles, and abroad. They can also be found in numerous important public and private collections. Andy Moses currently lives and works in Venice, California.
Geodynamics 1101
Andy Moses
, 2019, Acrylic on canvas over hexagonal wood panel, 55 x 48 inches
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Erin Parish
Erin Parish explores universal landscapes through her dense and layered geometrically abstract paintings. The works, primarily composed of layers of circles, reflect visions of subatomic particles, microcosmic atoms, and cells that make up the universe. Layers of resin are coated on top to fabricate an implied depth. Although Parish does not include a primary focal point in her works, the textured surfaces guide the eye through the structurally rigorous and complex compositions. There is an undeniable tension between the textured surface and the underpainting; the outcome is an abstract imagery that alludes to both the universal and the specific, the viewer is therefore called to carry out the process of reflection and interpretation as they become an active participant, giving life to the work. Parish designs her works to be digested over time: the viewer can observe changes in their perception due to changes in light, the seasons, and even their internal emotional shifts.
Erin Parish was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She received her Bachelor’s of Art from Bennington College and her Master’s of Fine Art from Queens College. She has had numerous solo and group exhibitions across the United States and her works can be found in public and private collections. She currently lives and works in Miami Beach, Florida.
Erin Parish
Scintillating, 2012, Oil and resin on panel, 35 1/2 x 47 1/2 inches
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso
Diane Walker-Gladney
Diane Walker-Gladney is a contemporary abstract painter whose personal landscapes deploy vibrant colors, intricate layers, and whimsical subject matter. Her works center around the significance of capturing fleeting moments. These seemingly insignificant moments serve as the foundation for narratives in her paintings. Whatever story Walker-Gladney sets out to tell becomes embedded into her paintings due to the reactive mark-making that initiates her process. She applies paint, graphite, or water-soluble crayons to lay out the initial strokes and lines that become the underpinnings of the work. Although these marks may become covered in the final product, the intent remains in the painting’s history. After the preliminary marks are made, she intuitively and organically works in response through the addition and subtraction of copious layers of acrylic paints and glazes until the final transforms into documentation of that experience.
Diane Walker-Gladney was born in Connecticut and received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Art from Central Connecticut State University. Her works are in several public and private collections, including the Denton Public Art Project and the Longview Museum of Fine Art. She was named a Hunting Art Prize finalist in 2007, 2009, and 2012. She currently lives and works in Dallas, Texas.
Signed lower right edge
Signed and titled on the verso
Diane Walker-Gladney
Ice Skating 101, 2023, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
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