Allusions: Recent paintings and monotypes by Patricia Spergel
Exhibition Dates: october 2 - october 27, 2018
Reception: Thursday, october 4, 6 - 8 pm
The Painting Center is pleased to present Allusions: Recent Paintings & Monotypes by Patricia Spergel in the Main Gallery. The word allusion derives from the Latin verb alludere, meaning "to refer to, to play with, or to jest," as does its cousin allude, meaning "to make indirect reference" or "to refer." Spergel’s works hint at their meaning and inspiration rather than explicitly revealing them. In her paintings and monotypes, abstract shapes crowd together, float and overlap, hovering on the verge of becoming recognizable, tangible objects, momentarily throwing the viewer off guard. Private, secret events are glimpsed just before they move or change. Forms surface, submerge, and press against one another as if for support, or come together as if magnetically, sexually attracted. In the essay for Spergel’s catalog, Tom Wachunas writes: “…her imagery emerges through time. But it’s not an illustrative imagery of a static world. What we see aren’t completed scenes or finished objects that magically appeared intact on the surface of the canvas… These oil paintings are exuberant records of Spergel’s intuitive decisions…”
Patricia Spergel was born in 1960 in Philadelphia and graduated from Cornell University in 1983 with a B.A. in French linguistics and a B.F.A. in printmaking. After living and working in both San Francisco and Philadelphia, she moved to New York in 1988 and received her M.F.A. in painting from the School of Visual Arts in 1990. After graduation, Ms. Spergel had a studio for eleven years in the meatpacking district in NYC and then moved her studio to the Westchester Arts Council building in White Plains, NY in 2001. While focusing on painting in her studio, she has also done extensive work with monotypes at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, CT. In 2004, the artist was invited by her alma mater to do a one person exhibition at the Tjaden Gallery at Cornell University. She has also been included in numerous group shows nationally and internationally. She was included in the Northeast edition of New American Paintings in 2011 and was a highlighted artist in July 2014 on the 365artists365days blog. She had a two person show in January 2017 at The Painting Center with Sarah Lutz titled A Conversation Afloat and she had a one-person exhibition at Kent State University at Stark in September 2017 titled Patricia Spergel: Peeking Through. The artist has also curated several group exhibitions, most recently Parallel Practices at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury and Cultivate Your Own Garden at The Painting Center. Spergel lives and works in Westchester County, NY. For more information, visit www.patriciaspergel.com.
