Paintings in bloom

By Felicia Menard

McIninch Art Gallery at Southern New Hampshire University is bringing on spring early with its flower-heavy exhibit, "A Midwinter Bouquet of Art."

A glowing, frenetically-paced three-panel acrylic piece by Maureen Ahern fronts the show. The artist's bold and deliberate handling of the surface compels the viewer to look at it. I want to hum Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" as I become accustomed to the paintings' rhythms.

Speaking of surface and rhythm, Dustan Knight's large-scale watercolor paintings on cradled panels are warm and inviting. Throughout the paintings, Knight addresses issues of speed, spontaneity and mastery of the medium as well as control over time. They showcase her energy, fearlessness and sheer determination. These paintings are self-framed. Because the watercolor paper is laminated to its panel, the artist is free to present a dimensional piece. Knight continues the composition over the outside edges of its frame for a distinctive presentation.

Jean Lachance is rapidly becoming one of my favorite artists. Her contemporary management of backgrounds together with the scale of her work is impressive. She combines the controlled, thick brushwork of Susan Rothenberg's backgrounds with the scale and intense focus of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings. "Red Lily" continues to grow on me. In another lily painting, Lachance retains luminous shadows of stamens on flower petals and indicates each petal's ridge and fold nicely.

Michael Eastman's "Lady Slipper" is a superbly realistic portrait of the endangered flower. Every part of the background makes our eye travel toward this rare, elusive beauty. My eyes try to linger on the mossy rocks and striated wooden branches, but I find I must return to the painted flower itself. I never seem to tire of it.
Pastels paintings by Ruth Arvanian Bowler work just fine here. Her pastels are sunny and bright: the perfect antidote to a New England winter.

"A Midwinter Bouquet of Art," McIninch Art Gallery at Southern New Hampshire University, through Feb. 13. Call 629-4622 for more information.

Felicia Menard can be reached at hippo@hippopress.com