“Playful Geometry” Exhibition

440 Gallery

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Susan Greenstein begins her watercolors by studying the geometry found in the view she is observing. Identifying positive and negative shapes helps to form the underlying structure of her cityscapes and still lifes. In “Williamstown Porch,” Susan shows us the squares defined within squares in window panes, triangle slivers along the roofline, and rectangles that make up a chair. A bookcase composed of boxlike shapes in “Corner Bookcase” becomes a chance for Susan to paint the geometry of the object all while contrasting the organic forms of plants and other objects. With a nod to Paul Klee, Greenstein skillfully weaves shapes into familiar, yet energetic compositions.

For painter Amy Weil, the grid has always been a jumping off point for diving into a painting. She creates grids that have a certain order and structure through patterns, color and line. However it is the impulsive and intuitive side of her that needs to break this order down to establish a more playful geometry within such a rigid format. In this latest series of encaustic paintings, she has abandoned the formal structure of the grid to create floating squares within the rectangle. The dichotomy between the movement and playful quality of the dancing squares and the physicality and weightiness of the paint create a tangible juxtaposition. The squares become like imprints of a narrative that is forever embedded in cement.

Plein air painter Janet Pedersen is showing a selection from “The 2nd Street Series,” a collection of studio-based oil on paper that she has been working on since 2015. Using Google’s Street View Map, Janet selects images from random 2nd Streets in any town or city in the U.S. that sparks her interest. In Playful Geometry, Janet’s streetscapes are locations from Lubbock, Texas; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Ogden, Utah. Using these real, albeit virtual locations, Janet explores the geometrics of landscape and architecture using the vision and process honed from painting directly on-site. She explores the geometrics of her subjects, pushing boundaries of shape, line and color. Pedersen’s playful landscapes are interpretations of the point where reality and abstraction meet.