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marilu datoli hartnett

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The paintings in this continuing series are formed with tinted Venetian plaster and silver leaf, utilizes the repetition of patterns with some inspired by nature and others to be found in Japanese and Modernist design as well in scientific illustrations such as “Forms in Nature” of the 19th century German zoologist and illustrator Ernst Haeckel. The replication of forms that develop reflect upon movement, chaos and the path that is taken with the increasing level of complexity that begins to emerge within this work. These graceful forms tend to evoke a meditative response and lie somewhere between a state of object and pure abstraction.

Some of the most recent work included in the one person show, Sustainable Light at The Cheryl Hazan Gallery refer to specific moments when time becomes suspended and the state between abstraction and reality become blurred such as a long musical note or a backlit leaf endured throughout the summer day; the perpetual movement of light filtered through trees. There is also the physical factor of the economy of image and material. The essentials of statement, nothing more or less - modernist. The word “sustainable” being one of the most overused expressions of global hope, has the ability to conjure up thoughts of righteousness and/or a way of mending the world’s woes, tackling complex issues in manageable and positive ways. Sustainable Light suggests a movement in that direction.

Tinted plaster is applied in many layers and burnished to create a surface of depth to which occasionally silver leaf is applied and then either left to naturally tarnish or is blackened through a chemical process. The aging process is the preferred method of achieving a record of the passage of time and the best chance for unexpected nuances to emerge as the piece goes through a long process of change. In the silvered portions of some paintings the ability to witness the sustained light that occurs is most evident. However, the recent work depends less on the silver process and more on the interplay between light, and form, line, balance and instability.