Desert Places

Hour of the Rabbit, 2”x2” oil on mylar

We are delighted to announce our next show, “Desert Places,” a solo exhibition of new work by oil painter Dina Brodsky.

Named for the Robert Frost poem of the same title, each of the nine exquisite new works in “Desert Places” evokes the haunting sense of melancholy exuded by formerly occupied spaces.

Originally inspired by the surreal, unpopulated landscapes on a trip through Iceland, Brodsky brought her experience to bear on more personal, intimate spaces. Considering herself a miniaturist in the old tradition, Brodsky makes deft use of the intimacy inherent in viewing art on such a small scale; drawing viewers into lushly detailed scenes that seem almost to be holding their breaths as they await the return of occupants recently or long since departed.

Brodsky herself describes the work as “a familiar space rendered strange by vacancy – an empty bed, a vacant building, a bar stripped of it’s inhabitants by morning light, the crowded city emptied by a snowstorm. This series is a personal attempt to understand time and memory, and how the two work together to affect our perception of physical space. Each person has their own desert places, that can be tied to a physical location or a mental space: these are mine.”

“[…]and lonely as it is, that loneliness
shall be more lonely ere it will be less
a whiter blanket of benighted snow
with no expression, nothing to express.

they cannot scare me with their empty spaces
between stars – on stars, where no human race is
I have it in me so much nearer home
to scare myself with my own desert places”

-Robert Frost, “Desert Places”

“Desert Places” will be on view at The Mµseum October 14th 2013 through January 3rd 2014, with an opening reception Saturday October 19th from 5:30-6:30pm.