Sara Nightingale Gallery is pleased to present featured artist Judith Simonian, Caught in The Act of Swimming , on view now through September 10th.
Throughout her career spanning over 45 years, Simonian has periodically returned to paintings about fish and water. Inspired by the seduction of the subject matter and the ability it affords to “mash up” images, Simonian says, “The pleasure of painting water and fish provides gestural opportunities to dance on the two dimensional surface of a painting.” But she hesitates to remain in a pleasure zone for too long. It is just as important that she provide an exit route into another dimension, in order to make connections that aren’t immediately obvious to the viewer, nor to the artist herself. Using a periscope as a travel device, she journeys through, above and around imagined landscapes and seascapes, inviting the viewer to follow until they end up somewhere else. Simonian compares the process to a “Proustian sensation of observing postcards dropped on a table, conjuring moments of meaning and time that depend upon one’s personal triggers.” Her use of disparate imagery allows for multiple narratives within each work.
Judith Simonian, Caught in The Act of Swimming, acrylic on canvas, 50″ x 64″,
Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the gallery is limiting the number of visitors at any one time, and everyone is required to wear a mask. If you would like to have a private viewing in the gallery, please contact them for an appointment. For more information about the gallery please visit www.saranightingale.com.
