Any winter in the Pacific Northwest is long, but the promise of spring is all around us already. Take a trip outside to the inside of Childhood’s End to see the beauty of the environment we treasure so much. The show Atmospheres features three artists with very different approaches to and interpretations of the depiction of the common subject of atmospheric landscapes. As you walk into the gallery, you notice three distinct perspectives and unique personal distances from the environments they present.
On the farthest wall are works by Mitchell Albala, who studies Zen-like, ethereal, layered distance cityscapes and landscapes. He paints with oil and pastel on canvas or board. So much is described with so little information. You find yourself at a measured contemplative distance from his chosen environments, his hues are restrained yet explorative. His palette is unified with dancing nuances of similar or complementary pastel colors. There is a sensitivity in which shimmering distance is portrayed; what is revealed, what is left to your imagination, is a clever dance within the image. Like Rothko, Albala’s paintings are studies in contemplation and reflection. They require you to take your time and look closely into the distance. Detail is often abandoned in favor of texture, bounced light, and sensitivity, and yet there are details to remind you where you are. His paintings require you to keep looking and get lost in what is beyond the apparent.
Kim Eshelman’s works on the left wall are colorful, dancing, middle-distance, dreamlike meadowscapes and landscapes. Occasional paths or vistas are surrounded by the light playing on lush trees, foliage, brightly colored flowers, or dandelion clocks. They invite you to follow, leading deeper into a mesmerizing bucolic world. Her palette is bold, varied and adventurous. Her pastel strokes are so fluid, from a distance they read like paint. They are flowing and gestural with sudden and surprising sweeps and strokes, but as they are pastel, the layers are highly textured and shimmering with juxtaposed colors. The layers of intense color cleverly bounce back and forth until we’re not sure which color came first. There is much skill and strength in the confusion, like Eshelman is playing with your senses. The layers boldly and skillfully suggest distance with an inner glow and impressionistic color sensibility. Her hues and values are robust but at the same time subtle and sensitive, inviting you to occupy the liminal space between taking that walk with her, while at the same time reveling in the pure abstract joy of the medium.
Christopher Mathie’s works in acrylic occupy the right wall. Mathie lives near the sea and knows his seascapes well. He offers a more up-close delightfully confrontational, immersive and invigorating environment. Like a good walk (or sail) in the PNW on a blustery day, Mathie’s paintings are grounding, up-close and personal. The large scale of the paintings, and super large highly textured brushstrokes with flashes of metallic gold make you feel like you are living in the painting itself; just you and the elements. You can almost feel the wind in your hair and the water spray on your face. Distance is suggested but his focus is the immediate. Mathie uses a limited color palette using both pure and impure colors. The paint is gestural, employing dry brush techniques for blending, texture and contrast. With Mathie’s environments you are invited to be in the moment with the painter, your senses overwhelmed, your cares abandoned.
Each artist offers not only a different environment, a different perspective, and a unique distance from their chosen subject matter, but also a different emotional response and interpretation. Albala’s Distance, suggesting meditation; Eshelman’s middle Distance, suggesting serenity; and Mathie’s close-up, suggesting awakened physical senses are all encompassed in this show. Three very distinct individual viewpoints are able to live happily in the same gallery with unity in discourse.
Photos courtesy Childhood’s End.
WHAT:
Atmospheres: Fine art show
WHEN:
Until April 19th
WHERE:
Childhood’s End Gallery, 222 4th Ave W, Olympia
HOW MUCH:
Free
LEARN MORE:
https://www.childhoods-end-gallery.com
(360) 943-3724