Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Fragments in Time, new work by Barbara Smith Gioia at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring, New York. The exhibition will run from October 5, 2018 through October 28, 2018.  The opening for the show will be on Friday October 5, 2018 from 6-8:30 pm.

Barbara Smith Gioia’s exhibition of new work represents in some ways a departure from her work over the last five or so years. Mixed media continues to be the platform she uses to develop her ideas, however in this new body of work, Smith Gioia has limited her media choices to silkscreen and painting with an increased focus on color. In her earlier work dating from 2014 to 2016, line played a stronger role in its visual immediacy and emotional content. The works explored space relations among shifting planes and juxtapositions of fragmented line, color and shape. Collage played an integral role in how she constructed her compositions.

Notably, this new body of work does not have collage as its underlying structure. According to Smith Gioia, “I start with a matrix created with silkscreen prints of my line drawings and let the paintings take shape through the repetition and interaction of color.” Line plays a structural role allowing complex color relationships to establish regular and irregular rhythms of color.

While line is deemphasized in the work, color interaction is heightened. Her use of color is subtle and layered, reflective of her methods. Smith Gioia describes her technique; “Acrylic paints are applied in washes that shift to applications of layer upon layer of color creating vibrations and spatial shifts within a stroke.” Each painting contains numerous variations of a particular color that results from the patient application of pigment and its related values. In fact, individual colors can appear analogous and unpredictable at the same time. By decreasing the value contrast in her color, she allows the colors to intermingle; slowly and quietly nudging each other. The results are paintings that grow more rewarding the longer they are experienced. Smith Gioia’s new works are contemplative and they invite the viewer to participate in their tranquility and joy.

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

For more information: busterlevigallery.com.