New Paintings – The Shape of Things
May 3–May 19, 2018
Raff’s Vase number 8, acrylic on panel, 12 x 12 inches, 2018
The paintings in this exhibition, while of different genres; portraits, still lifes and landscape are not of random objects, posed models or distant vistas. They are of lifetime friends, family, favorite objects and beloved places.
Until recently, Benton has worked in series. Now, she’s moving from figuration toward abstraction; experimenting with shape and form, manipulating portraits, tilting objects, layering, scraping and drawing into thick paint and energizing her color palette. Raff’s translucent green vase at an angle, has lost its shape, the paint smeared and crusting over, it barely balances atop its shadow, creating tension.
The shape of things: their power to carve out space, fuse, press up or down, float, stand their ground or yield. The shape of visual imagery and memory, these are the concerns that absorb Benton and close out all the noise beyond the studio door.
