Patsy Krebs: New Paintings

Bay Area-based Patsy Krebs exhibits new paintings that continue her long-term consideration of the rectangular form, building upon works shown in the 2008 exhibition at Haines Gallery, Hibernal Dreams. Krebs explains, “abstract visual language has remained my primary artistic interest for its enduring capacity to shape a symbolic equivalent to the otherwise ineffable in the human experience.”

In these works, she applies a ground color on the wood panel, upon which she layers numerous coats of thinned acrylic washes in both horizontal and vertical bands, creating exquisite, ethereal gradations of color. For Krebs, these works reflect a kind of meditation on time. The central image boldly asserts the present, while repetitive, yet diminishing edges suggest the haze that characterizes our perception of the past and previous generations. Krebs’ palette is restricted, drawing attention to the interaction of various shades of black, gray and white with selected colors, namely hues of red and orange. Her use of the rectangle in these paintings formally resonates with oriental carpets and other textiles that employ complex central-image color-field compositions, in addition to recalling eastern orthodox icon painting and other icon-like images that exude a kind of interior light. By presenting these paintings at a small, intimate scale, she encourages contemplative, individual encounters with the works, as viewers investigate her subtle treatment of line, form and color.