Patsy Krebs: Aletheia: reveal/conceal
Haines Gallery is pleased to present Aletheia: reveal/conceal, a solo exhibition by Northern California painter Patsy Krebs (b. 1940, lives and works in Inverness, CA). In her ninth solo show with Haines Gallery, Krebs continues to mine the optical and affective possibilities of reductive painting, with a suite of new works that explore our perceptions of light, color, and space.
Often translated from Greek to mean “truth”, the term “aletheia” in Ancient Greek philosophy suggests both an active revealing and its opposite, concealment. Though Krebs does not directly refer to specific philosophical ideas, the exhibition’s title points to an essential quality of her practice: one that rewards careful viewing, as complex forms and meanings are revealed over time. She draws from the history of art and architecture, ancient texts, textiles, and natural phenomena of the world around her, distilling these visual references into an elegantly refined formal vocabulary.
Each of Krebs’ paintings are created through a build-up of paint and pattern. Numerous coats of thin washes of paint are applied in vertical and horizontal bands, creating subtle, nearly imperceptible gradations of color and value. The geometric forms in her work, typically the square and the rectangle, appear to float in and out of vision, hovering in a tantalizing zone on the threshold of optical illusion. They call to mind the woven patterns of antique carpets and textiles, which the artist has collected and enjoyed for many years, or windows exuding interior light. In some works, Krebs mixes paint with marble dust, resulting in ethereally polished surfaces.
Light has been a longstanding preoccupation for Krebs. She explains, “I am always aware of what light is doing in any space I’m in—particularly, the exquisite way certain spaces articulate both direct and ambient light.” Walking through the show, we can imagine the soft, diffused light that illuminates France’s medieval Cistercian monasteries, casting tones of grey and pale gold into vaulted interiors; or the dramatic silvery subarctic light of Scotland’s Shetland Islands, where Krebs recently completed a residency at Bressay Lighthouse.
Aletheia: reveal/conceal is an intimate site for contemplation. Through her paintings, Krebs creates for her audience the same profound experiences she finds in her studies and travels.
