perspectives

Perspectives

2009 Jun 12 - Jul 12

Opening Reception for the Artist Saturday, Jun 20, 5 - 7 p.m.

A landscape painter whose primary influences are Mark Rothko and Louise Nevelson, Christie Sheele is best known for her minimalist composition of strong interlocking shapes and the silky surfaces she achieves by layering delicate coats of oil paint on linen. In this exhibition she explores her different perspectives on what defines beauty and power in the landscape, as well as alternative viewpoints on presentation and process.

Pieces from her “Affinity” series, for example, with their frayed edges of linen and graphite gridding, take the viewer further away from the natural world and deeper into the inventions of art making. “These pieces also impart a visual discussion about focal ponts that goes against the traditional notions of atmospheric perspective in landscape painting,” says Scheele, who counters conventional sharp foregrounding moving back to more hazy horizons, for example. “Elements chosen by an inner logic intrinsic to the piece as it progresses are emphasized by greater or lesser blurring, heightened contrast, and selective replacement of the gridding that I began with and painted over,” adds the artist.

More precise pieces, such as “Brilliant Sky from Palmer Hill,” provide a different perspective. These pieces are more about capturing a sense of place, season and weather. “Romance of the Road,” for example, with its sunset light and abstract shapes of approaching headlights, is a mood piece that also captures an experience common to all of us in the Catskill Region. The impact on such works is highly visual.

“What ties this body of work together is my version of minimalism that is all about atmospherics. I paint not just the light, but the air, itself, and how both light and air affect the edges and colors of the scenes depicted. With the right atmospherics, anything and everything can reflect a powerful beauty--from smokestacks or headlights on a road to the odd, snaking fingers in a manmade marsh,” maintains Christie Scheele.

What is undeniable within all perspectives is the sheer beauty of the work.
Scheele has exhibited in numerous venues throughout the East, including DFN Gallery, NYC; Craven Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard; and Carrie Haddad, Hudson, NY. She is collected by Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, Queens Museum, NYC, American Airlines, NYC, and Kelsey Grammer, Malibu, CA, among others.

Chace-Randall Gallery is located at 49 Main Street, Andes, NY. Summer Gallery hours: Thursday – Sunday and Holiday Mondays 11 – 5 and by appointment.

Images from the exhibition:

oil on linen

Contrasting Shapes