Female abstractionists 2 will open April 9 at the Elisa Contemporary Art Gallery in Riverdale NY. It will run through June 25. Our new exhibit, Female abstractionists, celebrates women who have created abstract paintings in a range of colors and mediums. It features the work of Vermont artist, Rose Umerlik, and California artist, Kimber Berry, Connecticut artist, Jennifer Glover Riggs and Canadian artist, Marie Danielle Leblanc.

The Abstract art style, while often inspired by real places, memories, and life experiences, is created with abstract elements of form, color, line, tone, and texture. The viewer will often feel a connection to the work…sometimes without knowing why. It is often the hidden inspiration or message of the artwork that creates that bond.

The paintings of Rose Umerlik are emotional abstractions -- inspired by her stories of family, relationships and filled with forces of emotion including hope, fear, loss, pain, and love. According to Umerlik, “From the beginning of each piece, I lay down shapes, lines and bodies of color. As I manipulate these elements, I intuitively recognize how the correlation of these elements mirrors my interpersonal relationships. At different times these lines and forms vary in the way they relate to one another. Sometimes they hold each other, or gesture lovingly; other times they oppose each other or interact aggressively; sometimes their relationship is uncomfortable or uncertain; other times they strive for isolation… She sees her work as a metaphor for the universality of what it is to be human. We are all complicated, thinking, feeling and profoundly connected in a beautiful way that celebrates human consciousness.”

Many of the abstract works in the exhibit are inspired by our natural world.

According to Jennifer Glover Riggs, “I am inspired by the beauty and patterns found in nature, and by mark making in organic ways. I like to use unconventional tools that make organic and unpredictable marks when I paint, but at the same time I like to have a degree of control over my composition. I make one mark, then evaluate the piece and make another. For me, this is a study in the balance of chaos and control”.

Marie Danielle Leblanc bases many of her paintings based on travel and the one featured in the show is based on a trip to Cuba. It is part of her latest series using Encaustic. This medium includes beeswax, resin and dry pigment.

Kimber Berry is known for explosively colorful, visually dense, multidimensional canvases and installations. Berry masterfully integrates elements of the digital world and pure paint. Using digitally manipulated photographs of paint within her complex compositions, she creates a dance between the virtual world and the organic universe and challenges the viewer to discern between them.