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Vessel Gallery

September 4 - September 30, 2012

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471 25th Street Oakland, CA 94612
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Hidden Agenda "Hidden Agenda 8" by Rose Anne Critchfield (2011), 4' x 4', watercolor and india ink on panel
OPENS September 4, 11AM Hidden Agenda Paintings by Rose Anne Critchfield Including sculpture by Luke Heimbigner, Wayne Shaffer, Cyrus Tilton, Alex Abajian + J. Lin-Hsien Kung September 4-29 Reception Friday, September 7, 6-9PM Vessel Gallery, 471 25th Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510 893 8800 Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11-6PM Hidden Agenda "The strength of Rose Anne Critchfield's paintings comes from the quiet subtle detail found deep in the layers of bold brush strokes. I'm delighted to bring forward this feminine evolution to post abstract expressionism. Methodical recordings take the viewer by surprise, as they begin to discover the subtext of the surface Critchfield sets up for us." - Lonnie Lee STATEMENT "I make these shapes the way I might draw a stick through wet sand: thoughtfully, letting the drag of the stick slow my thoughts and impulses. The paintings emerge with a stillness that is calming. The dark shapes seem buoyant and lively against the delicate and otherwise uninhabited watercolors. Some of my earliest memories are of finding faces, horses, houses - any recognizable shapes - in the textural patterns of stucco or bark or almost any relatively flat surface. I still find that texture fires my imagination. - Rose Anne Critchfield [“Hidden Agenda“ is the debut exhibit of new paintings by Rose Anne Critchfield, elegant new expressions of themes Critchfield has explored for a long time. Her images are almost always rooted in both the visual and emotional experience of objects and events. There appears to be some nominal historic anchorage in the abstract gestural work of mid-20th century artists such as Kline or Motherwell. But, thinly and delicately painted, these are far more peaceful, almost Zen-like meditations. Departing from her long-time use of oils, Critchfield has developed a very demanding technique of brushed ink over a complex, carefully gessoed and water colored surface. The result invites the viewer to explore the images both from a distance and at very close range, as the surface patterns within the image seem to suggest unique whorls almost like an individual’s fingerprints.] - Marcia Growdon, PhD