Recently I was welcomed into the Brooklyn studio of painter Karen Schifano.
Schifano's minimal compositions, painted in a vivid palette, reveal sensitive, painterly touches when closely inspected.
The work is confident and bold and the power derived from this stance contradicts delicate variations in what at first appears to be a solid color ground. The forthrightness of the work makes the discovery of a line barely visible or a feathered corner or edge that much more gratifying when discovered.
Lately, other compositional elements have been introduced that interact with and against the larger forms. The addition of graceful curvilinear forms: a hovering ellipse here, the swoop of an "infinity symbol" there, allow for a more complicated reading of the space and at times it may seem that a stage has been set. This aspect allows for elements of narrative, character, and a psychological reading to come into play.
Schifano's work has recently been included in group exhibits in New York, London and Paris. You can see more of her painting in the upcoming, one person exhibition, curated by Emily Berger, at the Melville House Gallery opening on June 5th.
(see below for details)
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Karen Schifano: Paintings and Works on Paper
curated by Emily Berger
Opening Recption: Thursday, June 5th, 6 - 8 PM
June 5 - September 19, 2014
Melville House Gallery
145 Plymouth Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
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