Figuration is a group exhibition featuring the work of Brian Murphy, James Croak, Robert Taplin, Bo Bartlett, Tony Scherman, and Alex Katz. Each artist explores figuration through various styles, techniques, and media, thus creating an intriguing and innovative dialogue of form.

Among the work on view are Brian Murphy's fleshy and bold watercolors, which reference his own body and transcend the typical idea of the self-portrait by embracing the myth of Narcissis. James Croak is a surrealist sculptor using conceptual figuration as his subject matter. He began creating his cast dirt sculptures, which are a combination of dirt and fixative in 1985. This technique led to the Dirt Man series, the Hand Series and the Dirt Baby pieces, all of which will be featured in this exhibition. Also included will be work by sculptor Robert Taplin, whose small cast-plaster pieces present ambiguous narratives in a hybrid realism. The impact of his work is dependent on the emotional resonance between the viewer and the figures. Also included will be American realist painter Bo Bartlett. Bartlett's work focuses upon large-scale contemporary figurative painting. His paintings are a unique narrative vision, a combination of many sources including his upbringing, faith, memory, life and death, and above all, his family and friends.

Figuration is paired with our extended Abstraction exhibition, in order to present a complementary and dynamic perspective for each body of work. This juxtaposition allows the viewer to appreciate both conceptual styles independently, as well as to see possible similarities and differences.

For more information call the gallery at [206] 652-5855.