ordered abstraction as to indeed capture the timelessness he articulates.  A case in point is the inclusion of the Dorthea Rockburne painting from 1993 in the midst of the other work which dates no later than 2004.  The span is not that long I suppose, but still, 14 years has some significance and yet this painting hangs quite comfortably amidst the other work.  While the essay explains the title, makes evident why the selected artists were chosen and shapes the show’s theme, all of this is incidental to the visual expression at hand for which the work itself must solely be accountable for.

For 3 of the artists a couple of common and related themes running throughout are a highly refined sense of order along with symmetrical balance. Chuck Webster’s, Don Voisine’s and Linda Francis’ paintings are veritable celebrations of both.  The imagery is meticulously rendered to offer a near textureless experience. Webster hints at the sensual in his painting with a carefully articulated surface in which oil paint emulates polished encaustic.  Another element implied is the barest suggestion of spatial depth, what I call a ‘bending’ of space.  Voisine presents a very straightforward grid rendering but with a reductive treatment in which the

Don Voisine, Lull, 2007, oil on wood, 44 x 44 in

Chuck Webster, Victory, 2004, oil on wood panel, 40 x 52 in

central dark form is distinguished from the ground. This piece comes perilously close to manifesting pure design but nevertheless doesn’t quite cross the line and so succeeds remarkably as a result.  Francis’ central ring of black and red circles opens a multitude of references that captures an ‘abstracted’ objectivity.  I’m reminded of

Linda Francis, Two Hexagons, 2005 - 07, oil on wood, 48 x 48 in