PRESS RELEASE
Michael Abrams, A Gathered Calm
Sep 12 – Oct 12, 2013
Michael Abrams, A Gathered Calm
September 12, 2013- October 12, 2013
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 12th, 5-7PM
Sears-Peyton Gallery is pleased to present A Gathered Calm, an exhibition of new oil paintings by Michael Abrams. The show will include four large-scale oil paintings on canvas. This is Abrams’ fifth one-person show with the gallery.
What makes us nostalgic for the past? And which past are we conjuring up when we do? What is remembered? The places of our past, the sense of time and the emotions all mix with what is before us now as we navigate the present.
These paintings, made with many layers of translucent oil glazes and the luminous atmospheric style that Abrams is known for, are envisioned to manifest fresh responses to touchstone experiences with nature. Color, light, water, clouds, and sky invite us to participate in seemingly romantic, dreamlike, nostalgic color fields, which entice to tug us backward and at the same time push us forward. As if coming out of memory's storm, awaking out of reverie, we forge fresh ways of seeing what is here now. Before us now, approaching a gathered calm.
These minimally bare landscapes seem to be at once recognizable destinations and intangible color fields. In this way, Abrams bridges the romanticism of the 19th century Hudson River School with the contemporary dialogue of abstraction.
-Kimberly Whinna
Michael Abrams (b. 1957, New York) has been exhibiting his work consistently in New York City and across the country since 1985. His work has been featured in numerous publications including Art News, The New York Times, Vogue, and Elle Décor. In 2013, the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina acquired a painting for their permanent collection. Other public collections include General Electric, Fidelity Investments, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Federal Reserve. After over 20 years in New York City, Abrams recently relocated to rural Vermont.