Elizabeth Curren

Eddies of Thought

These meditative drawings, completed over the past six months, grew out of the need to focus exclusively on the page, to the exclusion of all other thoughts. The earlier drawings started with a few algorithms: the lines must be parallel and no lines could cross one another; circles and straight edges could be traced but needed to be exact; if a slight deviation occurred, the following lines must be laid down in such a way as to incorporate that deviation. The deviations quickly became obstacles that diverted the flow and those flows began to take on directions of their own. The white parts of the paper began to compete; the pens ran out of ink mid-stream; adjustments needed to be made. Best of all, space began to be created within the two-dimensionality of some of the lines; swirls and eddies appeared and new forms emerged.

First Friday Reception: September 6, 6-8 PM

Artist’s Reception: September 21, 4-6 PM

Laura Litten

You Animal

Wattana, a young female orangutan in the Paris zoo, makes choices as to which type of rope and which color of string she uses to create her knots. Artistic expression appears throughout the animal world.  The behavior is not limited to human behavior.  We are all animals. This work is an appreciation of the kinship between humans and animals reminding us of what it means to be alive in conversation with each other. Great apes living in the wild have developed impressive technical know- how: they construct nests, make and use tools, hunt small prey with spears. But they do not tie knots. Wattana taught herself to be an avid knot maker. She weaves a variety of materials in and out of her cage bars like a giant macramé project.   My discovery of Wattana and her unexpected talent inspires this work. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to go ahead and tie knots right in the exhibition. Take that selfie!

First Friday Reception: September 6, 6-8 PM

Artist’s Reception: September 21, 4-6 PM

Gordon Binder

NATURE ON MY MIND:  LANDSCAPES, SEASCAPES

Having spent my professional life in conservation, I take inspiration from majestic views of nature, especially of land and water, which provide all of us the foundation we need to enjoy life and to prosper. 

Though in recent years I’ve mostly shown artwork featuring urban themes, Nature on My Mind offers another take, another view, of what I see around me.  The work derives chiefly from the images and vistas I absorb when I travel, when I wander outdoors, when I take in the sunsets out the back window of my apartment, on the beach, in the mountains.

My sketchbook is ever at the ready, one or another drawing the inspiration for a painting.  Some of my paintings are based on actual places, others are imaginary or abstracted in what I call an expressionist style, somewhere along the spectrum between realism and abstraction. 

Artist’s Reception: October 19th, 4 - 6 pm

Closing Reception: October 26th, 4 - 6 pm