Janet Pedersen's use of color and loose brushwork lends an abstract quality to her urban landscapes. Each piece begins as plein air from a location in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Pedersen then continues the painting back in her studio. With these scenes, she works within a square format and focuses on the angles of architecture and patterns of light and shadow, all captured in bright, vivid color.
Jo-Ann Acey is showing new gouache and ink paintings that are her personal responses to the color and beat of the city. Says Jo-Ann, "These paintings investigate the patterns and rhythm in the urban environment. I strive for compositions that portray movement and spontaneity, where the emotional reaction becomes more important than the subject matter."
The watercolors and drawings that sculptor Richard Barnet has on display have been created to visualize his current interests in 3D design. Barnet chooses to make these works as a way of visualizing ideas and thoughts that may or may not be later turned into sculpture. That is not to say that these are sketches and of lesser importance; each piece is meant to stand independent of any further use and are full-fledged statements of the artist's frame of mind. As Barnet says, "I do not start with a full prior plan for any of these drawings. I am making it up as I go along."