"By Two" Opening Reception

Opening Reception: Sat, Sep 14  from 4-6pm
Exhibition Run: Sep 12-Oct 26, 2024

By Two is a series of paintings that engage the physical and figurative aspects of mirroring, as softly and attentively gradated compositions reflect each other through literal symmetry and stark visual balance. Through diptychs, paired paintings of the same series, and individual paintings with distinct compositional halves, Stone paints thin bands of gradually shifting color that complicate the divide between geometric abstraction and soft edged painting. The luminous “Ceiling” and “Safe Passage” series’ illicit the transportive framing of a window into formless sky, while the multi-panel “Way Down” and “Bend to Bend” present reciprocity through glowing parallels. In all of Stone’s paintings, colors melt into each other while retaining solid, distinct forms continuously ascending to a fever pitch of harmony.

“The recurrent compositional element of symmetry provides inherent strength and harmony, akin to pulling the Lovers card in the Tarot, signifier of the bonds of relationship. That card is also associated with healing, and as I look around at a world that feels ever more divisive and oppositional, my desire is to offer a space to experience a sense of union and uplift. I hope these paintings are reflective of love, in my mind the most powerful antidote and perhaps the only solution to troubled times.” — Audrey Stone