“Button Up and Play,” a new exhibition featuring the artwork of Lucy Villeneuve, goes on view at Keyes Art in Sag Harbor this week, and opens with a reception on Saturday, August 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Villeneuve, 27, and from East Hampton, has been painting since childhood. In her works, this dialogue is translated into a type of dance, a visual conversation between her and whatever is responding on the canvas.
"I work with the elements of Taoism and specifically the Wu Wei, the art of non-doing, and try to focus on the experience of painting rather than the work itself,” she stated. “Each shape feels intentional yet just out of my grasp, a slippery in-betweenness, something short of being too far or not enough.
“In these works, I focused on unfolding my visual language, telling a story of communion,” she continued. “The white and ivory black hold space while soft pastels and neons dance along the walls of their maze. While seemingly similar in ethos, the physical act of painting these shapes is a practice in patience, in immersion, with each reflecting a different instinct of ‘play.’ The colors speak to each other, active yet docile. The lines hold each other, and they all remember to breathe.”
Keyes Art is at 45 Main Street, Sag Harbor. For more information visit, juliekeyesart.com.
Staff Writer on Aug 7, 2023