MEDITATIONS WITH FIRE: The Torched Linen Paintings of the Nineties by Gabrielle Senza

Great Barrington, MA

Simon's Rock College of Bard will host "MEDITATIONS WITH FIRE: The Torched Linen Paintings of Gabrielle Senza" at the Library Atrium Gallery from 22 January through 17 March, 2007. Featuring work created in the early 1990's, Ms. Senza states, "The torched linen series was started as a counterpoint to the series of highly representational industrial landscape paintings I was in the process of creating for a solo show near Detroit back in 1993. Rendering architectural structures in oil paint on steel was very demanding, and the need for a looser form of creative expression was great.

"Experimenting with the basic tools of a plumber (propane torch, stiff aluminum brush and a tin of soldering flux), I blindly engaged in intuitive mark making on torn bits of raw linen. The flux is colorless. The brush is stiff. The image comes to life under the torch. Verging on instant annihilation, the flames give little latitude for deliberation.

"Working with fire gave me an experience unlike anything I’d ever done before. Fire is ultra-life; Alchemy, magic, source, transmutation, destruction, regeneration, life and death. It created a realm of exploration that felt tribal, primitive, primordial: a place for inner exploration and release."