Gallery 705 will host an exhibit by Joyce Pommer from Saturday through Saturday, May 30. An opening reception will be held 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the gallery.
Pommer is a widely exhibited artist who is represented in numerous private and public collections throughout the country. She studied at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, then the Art Institute of Boston, and finally the Art Students League in New York, where she resides and owns Franklin 54 Gallery.
A fascinating group of paintings on paper was created with Pommer's technique of placing handmade paper into a bath mixture of methyl cellulose (a glue substance) and water onto which oil is added. The liquid mixture is then manipulated to form natural-appearing, freely flowing shapes. After removing the paper from the bath, the artist sometimes adds colors and shapes while the paper is still wet. In other works, the paper is dried before applying more paint to further strengthen or define shapes.
The challenge is knowing when to stop. Pommer likes to quit while the painting is fresh with brilliant flowing colors that appear to be in a state of perpetual evolution.
In addition to the paper paintings, there are oil and acrylic paintings on canvas and wood panels. Titles such as "Deep Dive," "Two Seasons," "Desert Landscape" and "Magic Land" suggest inspiration from nature combined with impetus from Kandinsky, the inventor of non-objective improvisational painting.
Gallery 705 is at 705 Fulmer Ave., Stroudsburg. For information or directions, call (570) 421-0833 or e-mail galry705@ptd.net.
Southwest Minnesota State University Art Museum May-Aug, 2008
