Art Gallery opens fall with ‘Different Things in Different Amounts’

The Art Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University is holding its first exhibition of the fall 2024 semester. "Different Things in Different Amounts" is running Aug. 19 - Oct. 11 with an opening reception Sept. 18 at 5 p.m.

"'Different Things and in Different Amounts' examines the commitment to abstraction in the paintings of seven contemporary artists, whose images and objects are imbued with the magic of everyday life," said Julia Wintner, gallery director. "Most are in the middle of their careers, and reside in New England, where they are beloved members of our vibrant cultural landscape. They are dedicated advocates for abstraction and demonstrate their confidence in its ability to stir our souls and stimulate our minds."

At the Sept. 19 opening, featured artists and Storrs-based painters Deborah Dancy and Erin Koch Smith will speak about their work.

Dancy's large-scale, abstract oil paintings describe intimate human encounters but leave their narratives open to the viewer's interpretation. Smith mines the magic in her surrounding landscape and morphs its shapes into ghostly forms on the surface of her paintings.

Sangram Majumdar of Seattle, WA, combines multiverse references to architecture, Indian miniatures, video games, political upheavals and stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Hong of Beverly, MA, embraces the gifts of nature and layers leaves and plants into her monumentally scaled works on handmade paper.

Julie Torres of Bronx, NY, treats paint as a sculptural material and builds attractive and tactile canvases that remind the viewer of candies and cakes. Mariah Dekkenga's (Vermont) work includes abstract paintings and time-based animations mirroring the patterns of pixelated computer screens. Daniel Graham Loxton of Cold Sprigs, NY, builds the surfaces of his paintings through collages of found materials and oil painting.

"Different Things in Different Aounts" is curated by Douglas Degges, assistant professor of painting at UConn.