Space and Surface Together

Since Impressionism many of the best landscape painters have combined illusions of depth with the purpose to elaborate the surface of the support; in other words, the goal has been to make works that are compelling two dimensional structures as well as convincing three dimensional illusions. The landscapes in this exhibition succeed in both of these ambitions. While nature is described or evoked with real success by space, color, light, atmosphere and marks that suggest natural growth, the artists also employ gesture, composition, and sometimes the purity of flat forms to make the surfaces of their paintings fresh with impulse and spontaneity or impressively orchestrated by pattern or design. The result of course is imagery that is doubly rich and attractive.

Artists: Kathline Carr, Cheryl Clinton, John J. Daly, Nan Hass Feldman, Catherine Picard-Gibbs, Melissa Shaak, Marcia Wise, Leslie Zelamsky

The Curator

John Baker is a widely exhibited painter based in Boston and New York whose solo exhibitions have been favorably reviewed in the Boston Globe (his paintings demonstrate that the human figure as a source of fresh ideas still endures), Art New England (Baker’s collages raise a bunch of interesting issues) and American Art Collector (John Baker’s wonderful and worthy project). A native of New York City, Baker was a pupil of Donald Judd for two years. The sculptor’s constructivist method remains an influence on Baker’s collage process, but Baker’s artistic results are more sensual and emotional as he adds the elements of subtle color harmony and reliance on impulse.