ABSTRACTION

Janet Olney, Annette Sauermann, Bill Schmidt, Nora Sturges

ON VIEW: SEPTEMBER 15 - NOVEMBER 5, 2022

OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 6:00 - 8:00PM

C. Grimaldis Gallery is pleased to present ABSTRACTION, an exhibition featuring Janet Olney, Annette Sauermann, Bill Schmidt, and Nora Sturges; four artists presenting a unique perspective on form and gesture in their work. Linking moments of control and spontaneity, this exhibition showcases contemporary paintings and wall sculptures with captivating space and luminous color.

Baltimore-based artist Nora Sturges’ recent work in abstraction is an evolution of her early dystopian landscapes. Drawing reference from the mystery and humanity of late medieval Italian frescos, Sturges’ expressive forms interact like characters arguing, battling, and dancing across a gouache surface. Her layers of microscopic brushstrokes on postcard-size panels become worlds of their own. Bill Schmidt, another local legend, further proves that non-representational painting can still be narrative. His systematic shapes produce strict figure-ground relationships. Yet somehow these relationships connect to each other and to the surface in a way that seems so organic. His haloed lines play with depth and his balanced compositions focus on rhythmic iterations of design principles.

Janet Olney’s serpentine marks and geometric forms utilize smooth gradients and drop shadows to create complex spatial ambiguities. To stand out from her Baltimore peers, Olney has developed a signature visual language with a distinct sensibility to color and illusion, introducing the viewer to both the seen and the unseen. She thinks about how our experiences influence perception in ways beyond our awareness. Across the Atlantic in Aachen, Germany, Annette Sauermann works through a similar subconscious, creating architectural wall pieces that feature ambient light as material. As sunlight slowly shifts throughout the day, Sauermann’s acrylic sculptures adapt and react seamlessly. These transitions express how natural light acts as a constant covert companion in our everyday lives.