Spiral: New Paintings by Gail Roberts

Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA

Review by Cathy Breslaw

Spiral by Gail Roberts at Scott White Contemporary Art  (7655 Girard Ave. Suite 101, La Jolla, 92037)has an opening reception: Sat, June 8, 6-8 pm and continues until  until July 27More info: info@scottwhiteart.com 858.255.8574

   

“Spiral” is an exhibition of oil paintings by Gail Roberts.  Roberts, whose work is primarily representational, incorporates Fibonacci, a mathematical principle referencing number sequences and spiral patterns in nature.  Her work portrays nature’s decomposition of organic matter in the form of bird nests, feathers, twigs and leaves. This imagery appears to serve as commentary on our relationship between nature and culture. The central theme of nests is a metaphor for the life cycle of birth to death and Roberts sometimes juxtaposes these nests with text about birds in flight, hunting and being hunted. 

Curiously, there are no images of birds in these paintings, only evidence that the birds were at one time present in these environments. Some of the works are painted on canvas while others are painted on 12 inch squares of marble, slate and terrazzo – materials that are culled from the earth and commercially produced. Many of Roberts’ compositions have a delicate and fragile quality in the way they are painted, bringing to our awareness the temporal nature of life.It is the “empty nests” we recall when we walk away, wondering what Roberts left unresolved  - that there is more to her story – a narrative that remains unexplained.

Cathy Breslaw is a southern California visual artist, writer and lecturer who has had over 25 solo exhibitions, and 50 group exhibitions across the country at museums, art centers, college and university galleries and commercial galleries. Her work can be found in many private and corporate collections. Her work and writing can be seen at:
www.cathylbreslaw.com
www.artfullifebycathy.blogspot.com
cathybreslaw@roadrunner.com