A new body of work by tonalist artist Susan Grossman will be presented by George Billis Gallery at DFN Projects in New York City from September 16 to October 9. Grossman’s pastel and charcoal pieces capture the intimate feel of rain-soaked city scenes, rural country roads with storms looming ahead, sandy shorelines beneath big skies and more.
Passage, pastel and charcoal on paper, 25 x 30 in.
“This group of drawings was curated by George Billis, illuminating the link between the landscape and the urbanscape drawings,” says Grossman. “Both environments are my world and my inspiration. Thus they are linked through narrative and the formal elements of the creative process. The drawings are part of a whole for me.”
Enter, pastel and charcoal on paper, 60 x 70 in.
The artist’s work is rendered in more muted tones, punctuated by strong contrasts, bold compositions and painterly mark-making. She approaches her art through a combination of direct observation and photographs, which she takes back to the studio to work with on a more intimate level. This is where intuition and unbridled creativity begin to take shape.
Flow, pastel and charcoal on paper, 30 x 35 in.
“I use color as a narrative tool,” she says. “I begin a drawing with the simple act of gesture with some charcoal, gray and white pastel. Naturally the story and imagery begin to inform the work, I may see a red light, yellow shirt, waves folding. Color appears as both a dramatic, narrative tool, and again as a formal concern, so that the drawing has layers and hopefully some intensity.”
Grossman continues, “I never feel my palette is limited, in fact it is intimidatingly filled with infinite choices which seem unlimited.”
Approach, pastel and charcoal on paper, 60 x 50 in.
Grossman's solo exhibition opens with a reception on Wednesday, September 16, from 6 to 8 in the evening. Other works by Grossman will be displayed at George Billis Gallery’s booth at the Chicago Art Fair from October 7 to 10. —
George Billis Gallery at DFN Projects 41 E. 57th Street, Suite 1103 • New York, NY 10022 (917) 273-8621 • www.georgebillis.com
Powered by Froala Editor
