Erika Ranee is doing double duty at the Arts Center at Duck Creek starting this weekend, with “Feelings,” a show of her work in the Little Gallery, and “All the Things,” an exhibition she curated, of work by six artists. Both will open on Saturday, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m., and continue through Aug. 11.
“Feelings” consists of 19 small canvases made for this show, created in her home, primarily in ink, crayon, and collage. “Last summer I drove around [East Hampton] and got lost, and chanced upon a beautiful little ‘hidden’ beach,” she said. “This is the recall I’m relying on to build this series of work. The places/memories appear as I’m painting, not before. No pre-sketch/planning. Just tapping into feeling and memory.”
Ms. Ranee’s paintings aim to reflect the ebb and flow of stimulus in our daily lives. Each abstract composition offers a kind of interior micro-view, rendered in poured paint, shellac, and elements of collage. “This vibrant matter is delicately balanced within a subtle geometry of borders and cornerstones,” according to the gallery, “with thick lines separating deep space from flat planes, opening the paintings back up again.”
Ms. Ranee, who lives and works in New York, has been selected by the artist Jeffrey Gibson for the Brooklyn Museum’s upcoming 200th anniversary exhibition. She currently has a solo show at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech University.
The six artists in “All the Things,” which will be installed in the John Little Barn, defy the conventions of painting. Their work blurs the boundaries between the support and the surface, employing techniques such as manipulating stretcher bars, cutting canvas, and integrating other materials.
Mike Cloud explores contemporary painting amid reproductions and symbols, while Daniel John Gadd merges painting and sculpture, blending abstraction and figuration with personal narratives. Carl E. Hazlewood uses everyday materials to create structures on and off walls and floors.
An interdisciplinary artist, Leeza Meksin explores parallels among painting, architecture, and bodies. Jeanne Reynal (1903-1983) was a mosaicist who revived ancient techniques and experimented with abstraction. Rachel Eulena Williams transforms abstract painting with a unique material approach.
“My aim in this show was to gather together artists whom I deeply admire for expanding the traditional conventions of painting,” said Ms. Ranee. “They each have a fearless approach to utilizing ordinary, everyday materials, with extraordinary results.”
Looking ahead, a talk about Visual Thinking Strategies, an educational nonprofit that trains educators in schools, museums, and institutions of higher education in using a student-centered approach to create inclusive discussions, will take place at Duck Creek at 4 p.m. on July 21.
