“The Rhythm of Color,” by Kate Mueller, Opens June 10
At the Korongo Gallery in Randolph
“The Rhythm of Color,” an exhibition of pastels and oil paintings by Vermont artist Kate Mueller, will open at the Korongo Gallery in Randolph on June 10 with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit includes more than 30 figurative works, expressionistic landscapes, and portraits.
Sensuous, curving lines and bold, earthy colors mark Mueller’s current work, the latest phase in a career that began more than thirty years ago with a fascination in Japanese landscape painting, Art Deco, and surrealism. In the mid-nineties, Mueller began working exclusively in pastel with the nude as her subject—a single-mindedness of focus that proved to be a turning point.
“Through that period, my skill and confidence in form and color grew,” she recalls in the biography that accompanies her exhibit. “I worked increasingly larger, with ever bolder use of color. My aesthetic had shifted from surrealism to a use of color more in line with abstract expressionism.”
In 2003, Mueller began applying what she had learned to landscapes and, more recently, portraits, including commissioned work. Her work is held in numerous private collections in the United States and Europe, and she has been the featured artist at the Christine Price Gallery in Castleton and the Chaffee Center in Rutland.
“When I sit in my studio, surrounded by various pieces-in-progress, their colors and curves connect and flow into one another. The subject matter becomes secondary to the shapes and movement. It’s as though I am working on one big painting, and each individual canvas or piece of paper is a brief surfacing, one focused moment of expression. Underneath is some big shape-shifting feeling, a giant refracting fractal of color and shape.”
“The Rhythm of Color” will be on display through July 17. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm. Korongo is located at 18 Merchants Row in Randolph. Info: 802-728-6788.
images:
Hannah, pastel on paper, 9x12
Field at Play, oil on canvas, 24x19
