New York, New Work, The Liberation Series
Abby Zonies 01.10.2019 - 03.21.2019 Narthex Gallery
Artist Statement
I relocated from Boston to Manhattan in 2012. The change in location and studio precipitated a period of intense experimentation for me. Throughout most of my career I worked in oil, from observation, favoring large still lifes or landscapes from my garden.
When I came to Manhattan I struggled with the lack of space and new environment. It provoked me to rethink what kind of paintings I wanted to make. I missed working in oil in my garden or setting up complicated still lifes with patterned fabrics, but in time I began to enjoy painting with gouache and experimenting with different papers. Gouache, lush and intense in color—and water soluble—is very apartment friendly.
The works you are seeing are mostly current examples of the exploration in non-objective work that I have created since moving to New York. I titled this show “Liberation” because over time I was released of my dependence on the image. Color, paint, gesture, and brush marks—all of the elements, which have always been prominent in my paintings—broke free and scattered, liberated from the image.
In the work presented, color and pattern create chaos; they compete, collide, and then unite. I begin with random marks and while I may have an idea or feeling in mind, inevitably I am drawn on different and unexpected paths. I must remain confident and open to the idea that eventually the piece will reveal itself to me and guide me. The images are worked until they finally come together in a surprising and coherent way.
These paintings are exuberant, joyous and vivid displays of color, paint, and pattern. The work has become a personal metaphor for me, as the process mirrors my efforts to redefine myself as an artist in a new city. They are a reflection of how art can be used to adapt to a new environment and the personal challenges of change.
It has been a goal of mine to exhibit this body of work that has emerged from my relocation to New York City. I am very pleased to present my first solo show in New York at the Narthex Gallery.
About the artist
Abby Zonies has a BFA from Boston University in 1977, and an MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine / Tufts University in 1980. She taught painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for over thirty years. Her work has been shown extensively in the New England area and is included in numerous private and corporate collections. Abby was the recipient of a Massachusetts Foundation Fellowship in 1981. She moved to Manhattan in 2012 and was inducted into the National Association of Woman Artists in 2013. She was the recipient of the Miriam E. Helper Memorial Award for her painting in the show Ev(e)olution at the New York Public Library, Riverside branch, 2014. Abby also received an award for Works on Paper at the Annual members exhibition of the National Association of Woman Artists, 2016. Abby has exhibited in many juried shows in Manhattan since her move here, most recently in Life on Earth, at the Williamsburg Art Center in Brooklyn, New York, 2017. This is her first solo show in Manhattan.
Abby Zonie, Leap with Joy
Abby Zonies, Figure with Attitude