Opening up the Dark Places

The Art Scene: JUDITH LINSCOTT

Susan Rand’s work at the Norfolk Library shows a leap in her proression. While she painted some very painterly and moving pieces in the past, those (at least those she has chosen to show) were in the primarily safe category. They were good.

The pieces on display at Norfolk show an artist who is working less at creating a painting and more at the painting itself, exploring in a newly intense and confident way. Thus, a series of works examines the blackness of an open barn door surrounded by the green of the barn and the grass, or looks through the door into the interior of the barn; these aren’t about what is depicted as much as an exploration of form and color, of the complement of dark and light, the endless possiblilities of perspective and how it informs what we see. It’s about entrances and exits, the light we allow in and what we keep out.

Compass