“Susan Stillman/Peripheral Visions,” the artist”™s first show at the Garrison Art Center, features an ongoing series of small works that addresses the sensation of moving quickly through the landscape, capturing fragmentary views that vanish in an instant. Stillman”™s interest is in the ephemeral, those moments when light changes the mundane into something magical. Always on the lookout for sudden explosions of color brought on by the shifting light while walking in her neighborhood, Stillman finds that many views have become familiar motifs repeated in different seasons and times of day.”¯
The scale of the work affects how the images are perceived, as larger paintings invite the viewer to enter the space, and smaller panels evoke movement, echoing Stillman”™s experiences of moving through the landscape briskly. The heavily textured panels and the loose handling of paint contribute to the sensation of immediacy and motion.”¯
“An absence of the figure is deliberate,” Stillman added in her artist statement, “disallowing any imposition of ”˜story”™ and leaving the focus entirely on the moment captured and its specific qualities of light, color and tonal saturation. Intensity in the chromatic range brings to mind the hours when the sun is lowest in the sky. The simplicity of the subject is transformed by the moment of illumination and by our unexpected attention.”
With a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Fine Arts from Brooklyn College, Stillman began her career as an illustrator, her work appearing in Condé Nast and Hearst publications and The New York Times, among others. (She was chosen by the Book of the Month Club to illustrate a special centenary edition of James Joyce”™s “Ulysses” in 2022.) Depictions of area homes created through her Home Portraits business have been featured in The Times and The Wall Street Journal. Stillman has taught at the Parsons School of Design since 1983.
“Peripheral Visions” runs through June 18 at the Garrison Art Center, 23 Garrison Landing. It”™s on view in the Gillette Gallery concurrent with “Tales of the Psyche,” an exhibit of paintings, drawings and sculptures by Chris Randolph in the Balter Gallery. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. For more, call 845-424-3960 or visit garrisonartcenter.org.
