The Fischbach Gallery is pleased to present Above and Beyond, recent work by
Alexandra Tyng. The exhibition opens 8 January and is on view through 31 January 2009. The land formations and architecture of coastal Maine are joyfully explored in the new work of
artist Alexandra Tyng with her characteristic interplay of light and shadow, subtlety and intensity. 鈥淭he surfaces breathe with life, and are rich with small strokes of color,鈥 notes Suzette McAvoy, former chief curator of the Farnsworth Museum. 鈥淭he brushwork is inquisitive, actively leading the eye throughout the image, yet also deliberate in defining textures and shaping forms. Light and atmosphere are rendered with specificity and are critical to animating the compositions, each plays an active role in conveying the 鈥榮ense of place鈥 that is central to the work.鈥 Tyng believes that true understanding of a subject takes place in the context of its environment. Her recent paintings of Maine represent a hierarchy of perspectives, from intimate views of specific locations to aerial perspectives of Maine鈥檚 convoluted coast. 鈥淭o truly understand a place, I try to experience it up close and from within, then I gradually move further and further away, encompassing it within increasingly larger settings. From the air, you see the landscape open out in front of you, below you and on all sides. There鈥檚 an extraordinary sense of perspective.鈥 Ultimately, though, there remains something intangible in the process of showing and revealing. Tyng鈥檚 landscapes not only describe what we see, but also acknowledge that which is beyond the power of physical description, beyond understanding. This exhibit includes large aerial views, ground-level views with wide-angled perspectives, and small paintings that focus on details of buildings, rocks, trees and water. Born in Rome, Italy in 1954, Alexandra Tyng earned a B.A. from Harvard-Radcliffe University. She resides in the Philadelphia area. This is her sixth exhibition at Fischbach Gallery. An Exhibition Catalog with color reproductions will accompany this exhibition.