Talia and the Spring

Carol Rubin

Curated by Deborah Addison Coburn and Miriam Keeler

Wednesday, April 24th through Saturday, May 18th, 2024

The universe is a hum of vibrating energy, endlessly transforming, never the same. I feel that in flowers. Flowers are colored forms that take my eye on a gymnastic trip up, down, around and through space. They offer an endless array of complexity and simplicity of form and tangled lines, gathering and scattering. And the spaces between the flowers are also part of the act. Space and form mutually support one another, seeking a balance, if sometimes precarious. Dark and light are also players, from dense darkness where shoots emerge from earth to vivid light as they spill into the sun. The impact can hit as loud as a thunderclap.

Every spring I am overwhelmed again by nature’s ability to show us its vast energy. New growth beckons to be explored with paint. I search for ways to evoke my personal response. I use loose paint, working in rapid gestures across the canvas. I seek to activate the surface, to let it vibrate, to find a rhythm. I explore how forms move away from and toward us, leaving a trail of movement and sometimes disappearing under layers of paint.

Nature’s turns are dreadfully fleeting. So, I paint with some urgency. There isn’t much time for pondering. Catch it in paint before it is gone. This spring little Talia arrived with the first blossoms. Thank you for coming, Talia.