Recently I was able to pay a visit to the Brooklyn studio of Elizabeth Gilfilen.
Gilfilen paints large canvases with striking, sophisticated color palettes and seemingly frenzied paint application that make an urgent case for the continued relevancy of gestural abstraction.
The scrawled marks congeal to form imposing masses, that provide the structure and focus of the compositions, then break away again into hazy fields of color or interlacing tendrils.
At times Gilfilen's colors are inviting, and in another work, they can be heavy and disturbing but there is always a sense of movement and even beauty in the paintings.
The placement of color combined with a variety of surface holds the gaze and promises new discoveries upon each subsequent viewing. This attention to surface quality and variation (technique) is something that is hard won through hours of attention and studio time.
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Elizabeth Gilfilen, in her Brooklyn studio, showing prints created at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop during her Studio Immersion Project Fellowship.
Beginning July 9th Gilfilen's work may be seen in Conversations at the Morgan Lehman Gallery in New York City. The show is curated by Sharon Louden and features work by Jean Shin, David Ryan, Timothy Nolan, Cordy Ryman, Amy Rathbone, Louise Belcourt, Samantha Bittman, Zachary Keeting, Laurie Reid, and Elizabeth Gilfilen.
The show runs through August 22nd.
*some works shown in studio views may be in progress.
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Beth