PRESS RELEASE

February 10 - March 11, 2017

The Philip Slein Gallery is pleased to present Edge, an exhibition of hard-edge paintings by some of the more interesting practitioners in the field today.

The commonality of the work in Edge is that the paintings all utilize line as an element in their construction. Often the line is straight and the format linear as in the work of Ann Pibal, Cary Smith, Li Trincere, and especially in the constructions of Rachel Hellmann. With others, shapes are defined by lines, as in the work of Marilyn Lerner, Eric Brown, and Jan van der Ploeg. Or the line becomes part of a pattern, a complex system as in the work of Douglas Melini, very direct as in the work of Mary Judge, or pared down and reduced as in the work of Kate Shepherd. Or the line creates an edge that almost disappears yet still defines the painting, as in the work of Lisa Beck.

But the edge plays into all of the paintings in another way. All have an emotional edge as well--the same "edge" as in all art. This edge is reflected not only in the minds and hands of the artists, but also in the times in which these artists live.

Jan van der Ploeg, Painting No. 1606, Untitled, 2016, acrylic on linen, 28 x 22.5 inches