NYAB Event - Mary Hrbacek "Entwined"

Mary Hrbacek "Entwined"

CREON Gallery

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Creon Gallery presents Entwined, MARY HRBACEK’S second solo show at the gallery. Entwined titles a new group of paintings that HRBACEK completed since her immersion in the observation of anthropomorphic trees.

On the surface, HRBACEK’S vision may seem unfamiliar, odd or unusual as she strips away external appearances to reveal the essence of each tree, with a view to discovering a deeper reality that binds all human and natural elements of the world in an underlying principle of unity. HRBACEK’S individualistic qualities make her work unique and indefinable, revealing an eternal vision of tree “figures,” some on the verge of becoming, others transforming into recognizable figural forms that prompt a faster interpretation.

In paintings such as Entwined simplified modeled forms verge on cartoon imagery. The contorted tree limbs swirl in opposing directions, but ultimately remain interwoven. Flat honed symbolic shapes signifying abstracted physical features create tension, in contrast with the toy-like interwoven tree forms that embed them. The metallic-looking limbs float in anonymous blue space charged with a mysterious feeling of tranquility. In other works, such as Light Search, the tree figure is steeped in pathos. Twisted in apparent discomfort, it reaches metaphorically for “light,” for answers, for relief from anxiety and the tension that arises from life itself. The upper boughs recall the long fingers and protruding knuckles of human hands. The branches carve the pictorial space into clearly defined shapes that unify the format.