“Invincible Summer”
Now running until September 5th at Plan:d Gallery in Frogtown, Los Angeles

www.plan-dgallery.com
Check out the feature in Pasadena Weekly

“Albert Camus wrote, ‘I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.’ The works in this show speak to the undeniable life force within and around us.

The act of painting is itself an impossible pursuit. It is for me an exercise in humility and grace. I strive toward an ideal and yet what is made is a human document of effort and ineptitude. To stay in the practice and wrestle image, material and concept is humbling. The grace comes in the creation of something unforeseen, yet concrete. Sometimes the foibles become the best part.

To navigate the darkness and find the light, to commit to life’s vitality and continue to show up each day that we are given is what I see in these works. They are optimistic and resilient. Open and sincere in tone, they offer a vibrant immediacy and psychic presence. The surface of the linen is loaded up with crystalline colors and rich paint punctuation. There is a gentle tug between the rendered image and the formal application of paint for paint’s sake. The drawings are earnest and imperfect, capturing the vulnerability of the unguarded. The floral paintings are lyrical compositions of harmony and action, while the figures breathe with the tender affection of the viewer.

These pieces remind me of what Philip Guston said once about painting, that ‘It’s a long, long preparation for a few moments of innocence.'”

Anne-Elizabeth Sobieski