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Hera Gallery is pleased to present recent works of
art by its two newest members, Maureen Murray and Myron Rubenstein,
opening June 2nd, with an evening
reception from 6 - 8 pm.
These two new members bring a wealth of artistic and professional experience
to
Hera Gallery. In addition to sharing unique visions as contemporary artists,
they
each reside in southern Rhode Island and are involved with a variety of local
and
regional galleries and arts organiza-
tions.
Though the artwork of Murray and
Rubenstein is developed in entirely different mediums, (mainly oil paint and
digital
prints respectively) it shares a common feeling of representing a highly abstracted
reality. In both artists' works, layered images slowly reveal mysterious
and ethereal worlds, inviting the viewer to wander through the intriguing play
of shadows and light on fleeting forms and figures.
Despite living over a decade in New York City, Maureen
Murray finds
inspiration for her large and expressive canvases in the woods
and open fields of her native rural Rhode Island. Enclosed between
delicate layers of paint, the words of New England’s classic
poets and authors such as Emily Dickinson and Nathaniel Hawthorne
are found as if emerging from the forest or fields they were
once written in.
In her painting titled, "A Hundred Mysterious Years
Whispering Among the Leaves," Murray plays her fluid and natural
brushwork against a repeated black and white xeroxed image of
a young girl. The image calls to mind collections of old photos
of people and places, as the painting's title stenciled
across the canvas conjures up a mystery, perhaps long ago slipped between
the dusty pages of a family album.
Providing a key to interpreting her work, Murray writes,
"...each painting begins simply with color and natural forms
as the layers evolve into a composition that becomes its own
world." Using
a subdued color palette of delicate grays, blues or pastels,
Murray’s
paintings convey a connec-
tion with the natural world, as experienced
through a human relationship. Her paintings and collage works
evoke a bittersweet sense of remembrance, suggesting feelings
of temporality and impermanence.
Myron Rubenstein, a recent transplant
from New York City, presents digital prints and mixed media
works that glow with the energy of city life. Rubenstein's
electric line-work illuminates fragments of figures, and layers
of frenetic sketchings.
Rubenstein's work creates the feeling of speeding
through neon-lit streets, punctuated moments of luminosity lingering
as eyes close to the darkness.
"Night Burns," an
oil slick of metallic hues, vibrates with the dark dancing
of electric apparitions. Figures emerge and disappear in spaces
of transparency and opacity. About
his work he writes, "...my paintings are about the inner soul
of man's spirit, encompassing the subconscious
to arrive at a meaning of fear, love, hate, lust, envy, sloth
and all the sins and emotions of men and women; the dark places
that shed much light on who we really are."
Like Murray, Rubenstein offers slivers of visual information,
gestures and suggestions, just enough to create a contemplative
mood and to inspire a series of questions. Murray’s
artworks answer in soft whispers, and quiet revelations, while
Rubenstein’s
provide rhythmic responses bathed in the glow of neon light.
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