A blend of architecture and nature, Celia Reisman’s paintings encourage viewers to explore their environments in new ways. Her oils employ simplistic shapes in pleasing palettes, a journey into both color and geometric form. Often, the artist describes her work as “exterior still life.” The buildings occupy the ground plane the same way objects on a tabletop would. Unlike most landscapes, her paintings don’t cover vast distances; instead, they’re close-ups. “It’s a different kind of landscape,” she says.
Beaver Meadow Road, oil on canvas, 18 x 24"
A new body of work by Reisman completed in the last three years will be showcased during a solo exhibition at Gross McCleaf Gallery. A majority of the scenes capture locales in Vermont and Philadelphia, where Reisman spends most of her time, but also include Albuquerque and even Ireland. “Celia Reisman’s paintings are an exploration of color and geometry in the form of street scenes from suburban neighborhoods and views from rural back roads," says assistant director of Gross McCleaf Gallery, Morgan Hobbs. "Firmly planted within the gray area between representation and abstraction, the recognizable juxtaposition of houses and landscape features maintains the sense of place even while the objects exist as basic shapes and forms of the artist’s conception. What’s left is the familiar but mysterious combination of boxes, triangles and organic forms.” Titled Side Streets, Back Roads, the exhibition takes place September 7 to 30 with a reception on September 10 from 1 to 4 p.m.
ABQ Surprise Winter, oil on canvas, 24 x 36"
“I am very involved in proportional geometrical relationships, and I think I arrive at that because I’m almost Photoshopping [the composition],” Reisman continues. “I select parts of the landscape that I want to use. I edit out a lot of things, and select the things I want and insert them into the drawing. I’m inventing on the spot.”
Norwich Night, oil on linen, 16 x 20"
When it comes to color—another primary element of her work—Reisman has started a new practice where she blocks out large color shapes in the initial stages of a painting. “[They] have nothing to do with the images but are shape relationships of large units, and I can orchestrate the colors before diving into the more specific aspects of the paintings. So I do start with a color sensation in mind.”
Amaryllis Window, oil on canvas, 36 x 36"While Beaver Meadow Road and ABQ Surprise Winter both elicit feelings of quiet and calm, they have vastly different palettes. One is warm and bright, with olive greens and the golden hues of autumn, and the other an icy blue scene. “I like the idea of feeling like you can enter into these places; you can imagine meandering through these locations,” she says. “I want them to feel like a place you can enter.” —
Gross McCleaf Gallery
127 S. 16th Street • Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 665-8138 • www.grossmccleaf.com
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