Gretchen Feldman’s fabulous abstractions dance on the surface of her art, showing through August 4 at the Feldman Family Artspace, a venue managed by Featherstone Center for the Arts at the M.V. Film Center.
For those familiar with the artist, this show, “Gretchen V. Feldman | Explorations in Abstract,” reveals another facet of her repertoire — the shift from sensuous, abstracted Vineyard landscape and seascape to nonrepresentational mixed-media.
Louisa Gould, a Vineyard gallery owner, is the director of the Gretchen Feldman Collection, and curated the show. She has been in charge of the 700-some-piece collection for 10 years. “It is my intention that the viewer see something new and fresh, whether viewing Gretchen’s work for the first or the 20th time,” she says.
The large-scale pieces, from 2001 to 2007, animate the lobby gallery, inviting us to engage Feldman’s mastery. Her seamless watercolor, acrylic, and pastel gestures flow into rhythmic colorplay. The vigorously hued vertical and horizontal swathes pulse on the thick white watercolor paper.
“She was not afraid of color,” says Gould. “She went right in there. I like her use of black, and there are a lot of yummy, bold colors. But it’s balanced and juxtaposed with the softer grays, taupe, and negative spaces.”
Feldman, who passed away in 2008, frequently built up layers of pigment to an opaque consistency, sometimes applying them with a plastic credit or key card to produce a smooth surface. Her use of traditional, translucent watercolor washes creates variety and allows the paper’s rough texture to come through.
Feldman added additional complexity through her sparing use of iridescent pigments, which shimmer and catch the light and eye, drawing focus to detail in the vigorous compositions.
Commenting on the juxtaposition of Feldman’s landscapes and these paintings, Gould says, “The transition period is always the time of an artist’s journey that intrigues me the most, because the artist is pushing, pulling, stepping out of their comfort zone to either land flat or soar. With the limited space, I tried to show a series of transition pieces into and out of one of her periods of abstract exploration.”
As Gould mentions, although the paintings are all abstract, they vary in style. Feldman moved from relatively contained geometry to working in a looser manner, and then to curved, semicircular strokes that created a new tempo across the paper. The final piece in the show series leaps to a more concise abstraction. Its tightly rendered, small, framed geometric squares, horizontals, and verticals sit on top of the luminous red background, as though in air.
Feldman once said, “My interest was always trying to achieve a … balance of shape, form, and powerful painting.” Her show exemplifies that achievement. And leaving her art untitled, Feldman gives us our own meaning, making each relationship unique.
“Ultimately,” Gould explains, “I hope the viewer can pause a minute or more to be taken into the paintings. To unfold with the strokes and colors, go on a journey … and hopefully, take a breath. I also hope the colors will refresh the onlooker and inspire their soul — or simply provide a moment to step away from the everyday.”
She adds, “As Gretchen creates, unfolds, takes away, and adds something else back to her work, I find the story of the creative process and the inspiration to do the same ourselves.”
“Gretchen V. Feldman | Explorations in Abstract” is on view through August 4. Selected paintings are for sale, and a portion is donated to the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center. Contact Louisa Gould at louisa.gould@gmail.com, or 917-327-9229.
