OLD LYME – On Friday, May 5, The Cooley Gallery is hosting an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. for ‘Laying it On,’ an exhibition and sale of paintings by Helen Cantrell.
“Finally!” says Jeff Cooley. “We were so excited when we saw this group of Helen’s paintings before lockdown. Her use of color and fearless application of paint drew us in immediately. The surfaces are full of energy and gesture. It’s as if you are witnessing the moment the light bulb goes on.”
Over 15 paintings will be on display at the gallery on 25 Lyme St. Laying it On includes bold landscapes and figurative scenes. Cantrell’s paint surfaces with their additions and subtractions are as lively as her subjects and the artist has never been afraid of tackling a large canvas.
She adds paint, takes it away … and then adds more.
Her landscapes might include roads or overheard wires implying structure while her brushwork resists it. She is openly influenced by California artist, Richard Diebenkorn, who, like Cantrell, was also a printmaker and a painter comfortable wielding the power of color.
There is an “in the moment” quality from a gesture of last light or to a couple turning to look at the viewer. The moment Cantrell captures may seem new but there is a familiarity like a distant memory gently returning.
Cantrell moved to New York from her birthplace of Chicago when she was 21 and never looked back. She was gainfully employed as a typesetter in the city until 1998, the year she became an elected member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists and a full-time painter and printmaker.
Cantrell and her husband John live in Old Lyme.
This exhibition runs through June 10.
The Cooley Gallery is located at 25 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Gallery hours are Friday and Saturday 12 to 5 p.m. or almost any day by appointment. There will be special gallery hours during this exhibition to include Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
For more information, call Jeff Cooley at 860-304-2386 or visit cooleygallery.com
Editor’s Note: This article is based on a press release issued by The Cooley Gallery.