off-putting about these paintings in the arrangement of all their aspects that suggests an experience similar to what dreams produce.  As with the latter it is not something that can be directly defined.  But it is present in a single painting as well as throughout this body of work. In fact it is this quality that, to my mind, keeps the work fascinating and unforgettable.  If some pieces are more successful than others this only serves as a significant indicator of how hard the artist is pushing her sensibility.

Cecily Kahn, Lohin Geduld Gallery

This marvelous show so effortlessly and skillfully straddles the worlds of abstract and figurative painting that you wonder why there was ever any friction between the two.  For the most part some sort of representational figure is present in each piece.  But Patricia Broderick’s focus for her paintings had nothing to do with that old debate.  Broderick’s professional life revolved around theater and film (she is a well known playwright and script writer) and most likely her social life did too given the collective nature of the performing arts.  In her lifetime she did not have many shows of her work and, after seeing this body of work, one can make an educated guess as to why, which has nothing to do with a lack of quality or opportunity.

Broderick actually began her creative life as a painter and later went on to write plays, adaptations and scripts.  As to why her work is not better known, well, perhaps painting provided a way in which to enjoy a complete freedom of expression that was not otherwise available.  Contrast this to her theatrical work which requires all sorts of collaboration not to mention any number of compromises. After all, painting is a solitary activity in which the artist is the sole arbiter as to what is created and how.  Maybe making paintings represented a special activity that was hers alone and perhaps it was something she was less interested in sharing with the world compared to her other creative work.  Naturally I’m only speculating here but I’m basing it on the subject matter of these paintings and how often she had shown her work.

Patricia Broderick, Tibor de Nagy Gallery