Elizabeth Osborne: The Color
of Light
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
June 26 - September 20, 2009
Public opening: Friday, June 26, 2009, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
The Color of Light will bring together works from all periods in
her career, from a provocative series of 1960s interiors, to innovative
land- and seascapes of the 1970s, ambitious large still-lifes of
the late 1970s and early 1980s and increasingly abstract work of
the past two decades. Approximately fifty paintings will be included,
as well as a selection of works on paper, source materials and sketchbooks
from the artist's collection.
Unique among Philadelphia painters, Osborne has used her rigorous
PAFA training in concert with a life-long exploration of the meaning,
metaphorical power and spiritual associations of light and color.
Clearly composed and impeccably designed, Osborne's compositions
integrate the intensely observed world through a thorough study
of minimalist and color field painting. The result is a body of
work that elides abstraction into realism and challenges the viewer
to rethink distinctions between these ways of seeing and depicting
the world.
A catalogue written by Robert Cozzolino and published by Bunker
Hill Press will accompany the exhibition.
www.pafa.org
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Elizabeth Osborne: '70s Still
Life
Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
May 27 - July 3, 2009
On the occasion of Osborne’s retrospective at the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts, Locks Gallery brings together paintings
and watercolors completed between 1973 and 1978. Still lifes have
long been a compelling theme for the artist and have led to innovative
compositions and a masterful command of color.
The paintings from the 1970s are marked by strong architectural
elements in the compositions. Still lifes are arranged near windows
or on sharply foreshortened tables that extend out to the viewer.
In the next phase, Osborne paired classical Vanitas-type subjects
with patterned interiors or tranquil sea and sky landscapes. Throughout
her career, still life subjects have been charged with psychological
fervor - accented with pronounced contrasts of light and shadow,
and the contemplative impact of serial objects and personally compelling
mementos.
www.locksgallery.com
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