KENT, Conn.—Kenise Barnes Fine Art, which is currently on winter break, will open a new show Jan. 10 with paintings by Susan English and Laura Moriarity.
English’s works offer a sophisticated vocabulary of color and surface. By pouring layers of tinted polymer paints, English has arrived at a body of work whose minimalist appearance belies their complexities.
Through a series of planned pours and the manipulation of smooth aluminum panels English both directs and anticipates how the paint will accumulate, disperse, resist and form its own small abstractions.
The thickness and viscosity of the paint dictate the subtleties in appearance and the intensity of each color. Her paintings’ surfaces range from matte to medium or high gloss, each variously absorbing or reflecting light. The panels are assembled into specifically calibrated horizontal or vertical sequences existing always in relationship to the light in the room and the position of the viewer.
English received a fellowship at the Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Ithaca, NY, and was artist-in-residence at Habitat for Artists, Garrison, NY. She earned an MFA from Hunter College, New York, NY and a BA from Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, and lives and works in Cold Spring, NY.
Laura Moriarty is engaged in a visual dialogue that finds equilibrium between scientific representation and acts of abstraction. Her studio practice includes making sculptures, paintings, prints and multimedia installations.
By studying the elaborate diagrams found in earth science textbooks and from empirical evidence of geological events, Moriarty creates macro/micro records in encaustic paint of what she imagines is happening below the earth’s terrain. The properties of her work: shape, color, density, and composition result from the same forces that shape and reshape the earth—heating and cooling, time, movement, transmutation and enfolding.
The artist’s work is shown internationally, and she is the recipient of many grants and fellowships including the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation grant and Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, Zita Orionis Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT and the Baer Art Center, Hofsos, Iceland.
Kenise Barnes has released its 2026 exhibition schedule, which includes English and Moriarity, Jan. 10-Feb. 15; a gallery artists group exhibition, Marcg 14-April 26; Gabe Brown, May 2-June 7; Gregory Hennen and David Konigsberg, June 13-July 26, Project Space by Margot Glass, and Amada Acker, Sept. 19-Nov. 1.
Gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. and by appointment. The gallery is located at 7 Fulling Lane; 850-592-0220.
