By Darby Parsons
Considering Nature is a dual artist show with digital photographs by Shayne Lynn and acrylic paintings by Elise Whittemore-Hill. The show is ongoing at the 215 College Gallery until May 16.
Shayne Lynn's archival digital prints are subtle and surreal renderings of our human perception of the natural world. Each individual piece is a poetic nature shot with slight alterations that are accomplished subtly. The effect is to create scenes that appear to have been captured and frozen by your own wandering eye. The digital photos are titled in similar ways: Walking Past Spring (green leaves so sunlit that they seem to blur), Abandoned (thick brambles of a fruitful apple tree left to rot), Indian Summer (bright sun through curved birch trees). The colors are natural, brilliant and subdued all at once. Each digital photo expresses an emotion or evokes one.
Elise Whittemore-Hill's acrylic paintings compliment the digital prints as an intensive study on trees by a rapt pupil. Several of the acrylic paintings render thick, bare trunks and branches into emotional states that will be readily understood by the viewer. These trees seem to serve as guides through someone's life with titles such as When it Happens, Our Hard Winter and Breaking Clearly. Cathedral's blues and blacks give an impression of a cloister produced by the trees and air surrounding them. Shayne Lynn's fine prints are complimented by the fast, articulate motion in Elise Whittemore-Hill's paintings.
The 215 College Gallery (at 215 College Street) is a comfortable setting with a lot of natural light pouring through the windows. It's a beautiful art space open Fri 12-8, Sat 12-6, And Sun 12-4. The First Friday reception for Considering Nature will be held on May 7, 5-8pm.
Image: Abandoned by Shayne Lynn
