In essence features new paintings by Cynthia Knapp, Criss Mills, Kate Hooray Osmond and Jim Wise. ‘Essence’ is defined as the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something. Cynthia Knapp’s abstract works are musings on the inter-relationships of organic structures and an attempt to capture the most important characteristics of our physical environment. A trained architect, Criss Mills’s geometric abstractions are constructed of entangled fragments with the aim of provoking a dislocation to normative perception. Kate Hooray Osmond’s brightly colored geometric abstractions are explorations of the world’s energy, portraying a world full of paradox. Jim Wise’s contemporary surrealist paintings of roses are portraits of sublime objects of contemplation and an exploration of the human spirit.

Cynthia Knapp is an abstract artist whose paintings and works on paper are musings on the inter-relationships of organic structures. Fields of color blur, overlap, and interact creating an amalgam of natural shapes, not through representation or expression, but rather in portraying the essence of abstraction as seen in the physical environment.

“There is a visual dialog, a mediation between seemingly autonomous forms, which is constantly in play”, says Cynthia. “This intercession happens while constructing and editing visual elements into a symbiotic balance. Form is absolutely defined and dependent on the visual space that surrounds it. Line gestures mark an essence of motion because of the spatial displacement around that movement. Color, texture, and translucence are enhanced by the surrounding absence of that quality, making it more evident”.

At times, the work references topography, rock formations, or repetitious natural patterning. Paint and glaze are layered, added, and removed until the forms develop on the painting surface. Line and color can wrest dimensionality from the flat surface of paper or canvas. The linear references sometimes define the edge of a form or pose a topographic contour to suggest its volume.

Ongoing concerns of the work are expressed in formal and thematic dichotomies seeking reconciliation: line and color, flatness and dimensionality, abstract form and ground, tension and calm, conflict and resolution, order, and chaos. These notions are vital in the painting process. With the inspection of these opposites, visual editing is constantly in play as the painting emerges.

Born in Orange, New Jersey, Cynthia spent her childhood in Canada. After completing her education at York University with an Honors BA in Fine Arts in 1974, she returned to the United States. Currently living in Peachtree City, Cynthia has worked for most of her professional life in the Atlanta area.

Kate Hooray Osmond is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores visual experience and truth. Through vibrant colors, flat geometric shapes, painterly passages, and gold leaf, Kate traces a world where definitions and foundations are increasingly dissolute. Her goal is to capture the essential nature of her surroundings, a world of complete energy: change, abundance, sorrow, creation, and destruction. “My philosophy, which is reflected on the canvas, is to embrace everything in order to see the complete balance of existence and to learn peace in a climate where nothing seems to last”, says Kate.

Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Kate holds an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has been named the State Fellow for South Carolina and her paintings have been included in the Biennial by the Center for Contemporary Art of South Carolina, The Loveland Museum, the LaGrange Southeast Regional, Franklin Burroughs/Simeon Chapin Art Museum, and as a finalist for the CCA Prize.

Jim Wise creates meticulous paintings that present familiar items in unexpected and often striking ways, sparking a viewing experience that is at once familiar and mysterious. Fascinated with roses, Jim views them as sublime objects of contemplation through their unfolding, becoming, decline, and death. For Jim, the act of painting a rose is a meditation and symbolizes the essence of his being. “Several of the paintings present a rose floating over a silver vessel. I didn’t understand these until I came across an essay describing our true nature as spiritual, not physical. We are not the vessel, we are the spirit”, says Jim.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Jim studied art at the North Carolina Governor’s School before graduating from the Design College at North Carolina State University. Having a long career as a graphic designer, he produced award-winning design work for major corporations and institutions throughout the country. Jim is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Criss Mills is an Artist and Architect who works in the space between the two disciplines. Criss’ recent paintings disrupt our normal or expected standards of perception. He enjoys the paradox of using the language of Architecture to create disorder. Form and function become entangled fragments while the composition builds on layers of deconstructed plans and sections. A kinetic energy emerges as his paintings resist stability through shifting layers that continue to overlay, blur and fold.

Based in Atlanta, Criss holds a Master of Architecture from Georgia Tech and a Master of Fine Arts from Georgia State University. He has received a number of grants and fellowships in connection with installations and site works. Drawings associated with his installations and site works are in the collection of The High Museum of Art.