Key West Florida Weekly

Last call to see abstract collective at TSKW



Don’t miss your chance to see “Liminal,” the Sanger Gallery exhibit at The Studios of Key West featuring the recent work of accomplished abstract artists Amanda ChurchPaula De LucciaBeth KaminsteinLeslie Parke, and Lauren Olitski. The exhibit articulates a visceral conversation and kinetic experience, with each artist’s work clearly defined yet cohesive with those around it.

Leslie Parke’s hypnotic lines that define, dissolve, and merge shapes can be seen in the Sanger Gallery exhibit at The Studios of Key West until November 26.

In a special free virtual artist talk featured on Monday, November 23 at 5pm., the five artists will discuss the exhibit, the evolution of their work, and the creative path that got them there. Register at tskw.org/artist-talk-liminal/.

The exhibit’s cohesion of this abstract collective exists because the women, who share connections to Bennington College and more recently to the Florida Keys, also share a vernacular in how they think about and approach work, the materials they use, their pull towards stretching limits of the canvas, and their investigation of paint, size, shape, line, and color.

Viewers can explore these elements in Amanda Church’s velvet-smooth pop abstractions of the body in landscape, Paula De Luccia’s vibrant, daring, and textured large-scale paintings, Lauren Olitski’s energetic and thick acrylic impastos that extend the boundaries of the frame with colorful sculptural shapes, Leslie Parke’s hypnotic lines that define, dissolve, and merge shapes, and Beth Kaminstein’s ceramic works with high-fired glazes that are organic, grounding, and ethereal at once.

But don’t take our word for it.  All art, perhaps especially abstract art, calls for the viewer to sit with the work in order to take it in and discern its conversation for themselves.

Lauren Olitski’s energetic and thick acrylic impastos extend the boundaries of the frame with colorful sculptural shapes.

“One should try to experience the whole image with eyes wide open.  What do you see?  Notice what you are seeing—the materials, the way the paint is applied or how the clay is formed, the surfaces, the movement within the image, shapes, and so on,” says Kaminstein, who spearheaded the exhibit proposal. “Abstract art can be very poetic, grasping at something bigger than us or something small and tangible. How does it make you feel?  Does it bring up thoughts and connections from elsewhere?  I could go on and on. Try not to judge but let yourself just see.”

“Liminal” is a free exhibit open to the public and runs until Thursday, November 26.  Sponsored by Spottswood, Spottswood, Spottswood, and Sterling, PLLC.  For more information, contact The Studios at 305-296-0458 or visit TSKW.ORG.  The Studios of Key West is located at 533 Eaton Street, with gallery and box office open Tues-Sat, 12pm-4pm.

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