Glassell Gallery
October 29, 2016 – January 6, 2017
Artist Reception: Saturday, November 12, 6-8 p.m.

Painting Color, curated by Susan Bonfils, will feature abstract works by Steven Alexander, Siri Berg, Gabriele Evertz, Jane Logemann, Robert Swain, Stephen Westfall, and Sanford Wurmfeld.

A panel discussion on color will be held Sunday, November 13, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

This exhibition is sponsored by Nadine Carter Russell, in memory of her most beloved art professor, Paul A. Dufour.

Susan Bonfils, Curator’s Note

“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those that love color the most.”
—John Ruskin

This exhibition would not be what it is without the gracious lending of the artwork by the artists. It is an honor to have had the opportunity to work with such dedicated and talented people.

The main intention of this exhibition was to bring together a group of artists who, as non-objective painters with a strong concrete sensibility, had all been pursuing color as the central subject of painting. The original selection process was designed to eliminate as much as possible the aspects of the tradition that would distract from this aim, concentrating on an abstract art that was non-compositional, non-textural, non-narrative, etc. The beauty of certain paintings, however, made it impossible for me to omit entirely works having compositional and textural elements.

All of these artists live in the New York City area with the exception of Steven Alexander, who is from Pennsylvania, and they are all members of the American Abstract Artists group, except for Sanford Wurmfeld. They know each other, live in the same neighborhoods, have worked and exhibited together. Part of what interested me was to see such closeness and yet such difference in their systematic pursuits of color.  It is precisely the subtle distinctions that intrigued me and led me to wonder what a grouping of such strong work would do, if put together in the same room. What intensities would be brought out of each as amplified their differences from one another? I had to rely on my intuitive sense that the extraordinary quality of these works shine even more brightly when they shine together.

In closing, I would like to thank the sponsorship of Nadine Russell for her generous donation that made this all possible.

Many thanks go to Malia Krolak for inviting me to curate this exhibition. It has been her generosity and dedication to this project, providing the utmost freedom along the way, that has made it a pleasure to do.

Image credit: Gabriele Evertz, (A-) Chromatics+V, acrylic on canvas over panel, 24″x24″