Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Atlantic, new paintings by Bill Kooistra at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring, New York. The exhibition will run from May 4 through May 27, 2018.  The opening for the show will be on Friday May 4, 2018 from 6-8pm.

Bill Kooistra’s work has shifted from abstraction to representation throughout his career.  In one-way or another, all of his work is based on observation. Generally the focus of Kooistra’s abstract painting is on the color and textures found within landscapes. In this current series, Atlantic, his attention has turned toward surfaces, in particular, those found on shell fragments. Whereas in the landscaped based abstractions Kooistra often simplified his compositions to emphasize color relationships and their potential to suggest light, the compositions are often more complex in this series.  The textures, patterns and shapes formed through the action of sand and water on the shells have been translated into different rhythms juxtaposed next to each other. In addition, the physical potential of the paint is also incorporated to build surfaces suggestive of the different textures and impart energy into the rhythmic relationships.

Placing different surfaces next to each other is used in most of the paintings; another characteristic that Kooistra explores is how those surfaces are formed by chance.  While a pattern or shapes can be clearly picked out in the shells, there is always variety, never strict symmetry or predictability. This is definitely an interest for Kooistra as shapes appear to drift off the canvas or move across the plane without an apparent order. The repetitions found in the paintings lack symmetry and emphasize variety and difference. In addition the juxtapositions of different patterns, textures or shapes are improvisations of natural formations found in the shells, as his intention is never to make exact depictions of any of his sources.  The hope in this series is to tap into the eternally shifting progress of time on the surfaces of elements molded by nature.

Bill Kooistra received his BA in Fine Art from Ramapo College and his MA from Hunter College. He lives and works in Orange County, New York.  He has shown his work in numerous galleries and museums in the region including the Paterson Museum in NJ, the Kresge and Pascal Galleries at Ramapo College, the Garrison Art Center, the Pop Up Gallery in Saugerties NY and Buster Levi Gallery.

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

For more information: busterlevigallery.com