Gregory Amenoff, Closing, 2006, oil on panel, 19.75 x 19.75 in

Amenoff’s subject matter is unequivocally landscape, albeit not in a straightforward naturalistic manner. You recognize the identifiers: mountains, water, sunlight, rainbows and stars. But these do not read as a direct narrative. This observation leads to another which is that

Gregory Amenoff, Sun Pillar, 2007, oil on panel, 42 x 44 in

there is also a measure of what I call ‘modern’ painting present which is not to be confused with Modernism.  This is best defined by how the compositions confidently carve up the picture plane.  But the real focus of this marvelous work is on the stylization of landscape as captured in an imaginative, magical, emotional even mystical point of view. A delicate balance is achieved here between each of these aspects where no one dominates yet each contributes to the greater whole.  For example, take a painting like Sun Pillar where the intensity of the sun is given a lyrical treatment.  Like something from a pre-Renaissance painting the central form doubles to create an undefined metaphor such as the hand of God reaching out on the world.  The contrasts are dramatic in support of the concept but the arrangement of the forms renders a contemporary reading too.  This is further supported by the treatment of space in which you are aware of the landscape’s spatial depth while equally so of the democratic flatness of the forms.  Dare I sneak in another historical reference - Cezanne - purely for the handling of space?  Each painting in this show similarly connects in these ways while preserving individualistic character.  (To that point, after surveying this show I was hard pressed to choose only 5 images to include).

Color and texture are other important elements for this work.  The color is a wonderful mix of occasionally bright intense hues set in an environment of earthier tones with

Gregory Amenoff, Swale, 2007, oil on panel, 34 x 36 in