A THOUSAND WORDS

STORY & PAINTING BY ROBERT BECK

SIMPLE THINGS

THE CHALLENGES IN ART aren’t always dramatic. Often a subtlety can elevate an image from one you can identify to one that resonates. A painting is a flat surface, yet the viewer is accustomed to a world with three dimensions and a wider range of color and light. The painter has to deal with the medium’s limits in a manner that speaks a language the viewer is familiar with. In the search for that shared language, the individual elements—the vocabulary—matters.

Those common understandings are at the core of representational painting. I’m looking for elements we all can recognize, even someone who may not have

exhibitions

Cityscape by Ami Patel

Pennsbury High School Art Majors 2022 AOY Art Center, 949 Mirror Lake Rd, Yardley aoyarts.org March 25–April 3 Fri, Sat, Sun 12–5

Each year Pennsbury High School provides an opportunity for their art majors to exhibit at Pennsbury. This year AOY Art Center will host the show juried by David Rivera and Marc Schimsky, two prominent local artists. The students’ artwork brings a fresh perspective to AOY and it is our privilege to provide a formal gallery setting allowing the community to see the art and the students’ artistic voices to be heard. “It is so important that the community, especially our AOY community of artists, foster young people in their pursuit of the arts,” said Alison Smith, AOY President.

Wayne Thiebaud, Pies, Pies, Pies, 1961. Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in. Crocker Art Museum, gift of Philip L. Ehlert in memory of Dorothy Evelyn Ehlert, 1974.12. © 2022 Wayne Thiebaud / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Wayne Thiebaud, Park Place, 1995. Color etching hand-worked w/ watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, graphite & pastel, 29 9/16 x 20 3/4 in.(sheet / image). Crocker Art Museum, gift of the Artist's family, 1995.9.50. © 2022 Wayne Thiebaud / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.

Wayne Thiebaud 100: Paintings, Prints, and Drawings The Brandywine River Museum of Art 1 Hoffmans Mill Road, Chadds Ford, PA 610-388-2700 brandywine.org/museum Wed–Monday 10–4 (closed Tuesdays) Through April 10, 2022

Highlighting the full range of this iconic American artist’s work made over 70 years, the exhibition features a spectacular selection of his paintings, watercolors, and prints. Created to mark Thiebaud’s 100th birthday, the exhibition now also serves as a fitting tribute to his remarkable career following the artist’s recent death on December 25, 2021.

Endemesim, Specific and Explosive in Form, 2018, acrylic, stencil on canvas, 50” x 30" (detail)

Ed Kerns: Interconnected Lafayette College Art Galleries Grossman Gallery 243 N 3rd St., Easton, PA (and other locations on campus) galleries.lafayette.edu Through April 16, 2022 Panel Discussion and Artist Reception on April 9, 3-7 pm

Ed Kerns: Interconnected presents the creative practice of an extraordinary artist over the last forty years. The evolution of Ed Kerns’ work is perceptible when the works are viewed in totality. From a very early abstract expressionist piece, to minimalist abstractions, to the more current work that incorporated biology, chemistry, and physics, and took on more organic forms and biomorphic shapes, you will be delighted to discover these shifts as you view the works at various exhibition venues on Lafayette College.