'Expressions' At The Southampton Cultural Center

In the current “Expressions” exhibition at the Southampton Cultural Center, curated by Arlene Bujese, one is reminded of the degree to which abstract expressionism is such a uniquely American creation, though it is such an entertaining mix of so many European schools and approaches.

Originally created in the early part of the 20th century in Germany, abstract expressionism’s inception marked the first time that art began to move past the attempt to depict objective actuality and instead allowed the artist to interpret reality as individual products of subjective interpretation. First coined by the Czech art historian Antonin Matejcek, the word “expressionist” was designed to set it apart from impressionism in its rejection of actual perception. Instead, expressionism was about building on complex structures often associated more with emotional impact but still conjuring images closely tied to representational and figurative impulses.

However, by the time the critic Robert Coates was first credited with using the term “abstract expressionist” in print in America, the style had transcended the remaining dogmatic ties to figuration and had, instead, combined the emotional intensity of the German expressionists with the non-objective aesthetics of other European approaches including surrealism, cubism and futurism.

In the “Expressions” exhibit, Roy Nicholson’s works, for example, contain abstract as well as representational references to nature and the environment that meld seamlessly into harmonic reveries but that still lean significantly more on impulse than actuality. Veering from gentle rhythmic cadences to harshly assertive blasts of cacophonous brush strokes and explosive colors, the works offer interesting juxtapositions of tenor and tone, each emphasized by the artist’s use of space to manipulate the picture plane.

Part of an ongoing series dedicated to that part of the day after sunset but just before dark, works such “E.L.’s Gloaming #17” (oil on canvas, 2001-2006) shimmer with a marked sense of intensity; the progression of colors leading the eye deep into the canvas, a sensation that is accentuated by the manner in which the artist uses looser and less dense brush strokes as one wanders further into the composition.

In a similar vein, Shari Abramson uses a combination of expressive brush strokes and a confidant structuring of the picture plane to create a sense of place—although one always fraught with a sense of mystery that makes the image more evocative of a dreamlike landscape than anything specific. In “Alone Among the Reed Flowers” (oil on canvas, 2010), Ms. Abramson’s use of spatial distinction heightens this “mysterial” sensibility through an extremely subtle application of color, while the loosely energetic brush strokes underscore a feeling of spontaneity and gentle emotional impulse. Merging unobtrusive flares of color and light that mix with abstract images, the artist creates softly melodic images that appear to float in an indeterminate panorama.

While there is a comparable sensibility at play in works by Julie Small-Gamby, such as “In Accord” (oil on canvas, 2009) or “For the Moment” (mixed media on wood, 2006), for the most part the artist’s approach to nature is to seemingly re-create universes of biomorphic forms that are understated yet also deceptively complex. Using a variety of mixed medium processes, the works seem to be, in the final analysis, as much about the process of painting itself as they are an immediate suggestion of anything specific. In “Slicing Through” (oil and fabric on canvas, 2009), for example, the painting takes on an atmosphere of markedly organic forms seemingly bursting through the surface of the work. This effect is softened by the contrast in color and light which serve to make the textural effects seem to delicately ebb and flow as if manipulated by the wind or ocean tides.

Organic forces conjuring movement is also a defining factor in works by Danny Simmons, particularly in “Lilly do the zam poo oogie all night long” or “Loose Me” (both oil on canvas). Playfully contrasting color and negative space, there are surreal impulses reminiscent of Joan Miro in the lively interaction of forms which seem to bounce in whimsically choreographed arrangements that are as musical as they are painterly. This harmonious sensation is also evident in “The complicated things about my father” (oil on canvas), although in this work the picture plane is considerably denser and the interaction of forms significantly more intense than other works by this artist in the exhibit.

The group exhibition “Expressions,” featuring works by Roy Nicholson, Shari Abramson, Julie Small-Gamby, and Danny Simmons continues at the Southampton Cultural Center through May 23.