NEW YORK, NY –– January 17th, 2020 –– Kathryn Markel Fine Arts is pleased to present Early and Late, an exhibition of new work by Stephen Pentak. The show marks the artist’s ninth solo exhibition with the gallery.
Stephen Pentak’s paintings explore abstraction through nature. His formal abstractions are investigations of light and color, drawn from a seasonal palette of late autumn in upstate New York. These are not the dramatic colors of early fall, but rather the subtler palettes experienced as the season fades into winter. The juxtapositions of colors in his diptych and triptych panels create a sense of dynamic harmony, as the colors transition from light to dark.
Pentak’s landscapes are informed by his abstractions. Crafted with particular attention to composition, the underlying structure lends a grounded tranquility to his imagery. In this latest series of landscapes, Pentak plays with an ambiguous sense of time though his use of light and perspective. The colors suggest early spring or late autumn, in morning or afternoon. Deep foreground darkness frames distant light, and the warm hues of this illumination contradict the usual landscape expectation of a cool distance. Though each scene is inspired by an actual place, Pentak paints only from memories of his frequent hiking trips and fly-fishing adventures across the country.
Stephen Pentak is Professor Emeritus at Ohio State University where he was Professor and Associate Dean from 1983-2006. He is the author of numerous books including Design Basics published by Cengage Learning. He exhibits extensively across the United States, and internationally including Canada and Israel. A four-time Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Award Winner, he has also received various Arts and Research Grants from Ohio State University. His work is in numerous public and private collections including The Columbus Museum of Art, PharmaNet in Princeton NJ and The Wexner Center, Columbus, OH. Stephen Pentak currently lives and works in Stephentown, New York.
