Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Paintings, new work by Tim D’ Acquisto and Grace Kennedy at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring, New York. The exhibition will run from August 2 through September 1, 2019. The opening for the show will be on Friday August 2, 2019 from 6-8:30 pm.

This will be D’Acquisto and Kennedy’s third time showing together at Buster Levi Gallery. D’Acquisto and Kennedy are both representational artists who share an interest in content while concerned about the integrity of the picture plane. For D’Acquisto, the subject matter tends to be humorous or ironic, certainly never definitive. Simple interiors often consisting of an empty table, chairs or ladders in a room with little or no apparent narrative are painted in soft even colors that clearly flatten the space. Each element is painted in the same manner, which further inhibits depth. The same is true for some large oil on paper drawings shown in 2014. Though the subject matter appears organic; also not definitive, the same touch if evident throughout the work again inhibiting depth. The paintings in this show are new interiors that include many of his subjects including chairs, tables and ladders. The colors are a bit muted this time appearing pensive or subdued.

Grace Kennedy has shown both landscapes and interiors which both contain either personal narratives or address concerns for the natural world. Her landscape style recalls American illuminist painting of the nineteenth century though with either brighter colors or a use of light that is clearly influenced by twentieth century illumination. Kennedy’s interiors suggest film stills. They are collages, though her use of collage is subtle. Collage allows Kennedy to explore the ‘randomness’ of images inserted into her work, almost like a tree seeded in the garden. They help accentuate the impression that the viewer has unexpectedly come upon some drama but what that drama is, is not clear. Though her work employs more spatial depth than D’Acquisto’s, she turns the pictorial planes up toward the viewer either through color or unusual viewing angles, which force the images to emphasize the two dimensionality of the picture plane.

The connection between these two artists is less visual than it is an insistence on a content that absorbs the viewer no matter how evasive it may appear. Their work demands engagement and when applied, the rewards are worth it.

Buster Levi Gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 12-6 pm.

For more information: busterlevigallery.com