This exhibition presents the work of two abstract painters living and working in New York City, and it is curated by Brian Rutenberg, painter and College of Charleston alum. According to the curator, “Julie Evans and Barbara Takenaga each bring a sensuality of touch, vibrancy of color, and personal vernacular into a joyous confluence of form. Their paintings burst with luminosity and unpredictability making us aware of the physicality of living and the sheer joy of seeing.”

Barbara Takenaga maintains a studio in New York City, as well as Williamstown, MA, where she is also a Professor at Williams College.  Takenaga has exhibited her work at numerous museums and galleries including Mass MOCA, North Adams, MA; The American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York; The DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA; McKenzie Fine Art, New York; and Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA amongst numerous other venues.  She received her Bachelor of Fine Art in 1972 and her Masters of Fine Art in 1978, both from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

“My paintings are often seen as trippy cosmic expressions, obsessive pattern paintings, or cartoon-like scientific diagrams gone awry.  For my part, I want the work to be elegiac, evocative and occasionally funny, with some visual buzz and sensation.”

~ Barbara Takenaga, Artist Statement, 2005

View artist’s website.