Barbara Strasen

Aviary, neutral abstracted birds, mixed media

2016-2017

Artist Comments
A paper crane flies among a flock of birds against a dusky warm gradient. "The title of this work, 'This Is Not a Flock of Birds,' is a nod to Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte," shares artist Candice Eisenfeld. She takes pleasure in letting her viewers create their own meanings inspired by her work.

About the Artist
As an American exploring issues of identity, artist Candice Eisenfeld paints through the lens of the first American art movement, the Hudson River School. Rather than depicting a specific locale, Candice’s artwork evokes a sense of place. These "inner landscapes" are invented, and often reference photographs taken during travels in southern Appalachia and the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains. Whether real or imagined, her paintings are influenced by the Dutch Masters, Tonalists, and Chinese painting. Produced on a single wooden panel, the ethereal landscapes are often joined with segments of aqueous color fields which act as commentary for the landscapes, like the chorus in a Greek play. The crisp, hard edges separating the landscapes from the color fields command a sense of order in an otherwise fluid and painterly surface. With two or three sections of the panel competing for attention, the painting creates multiple focal points. Candice's art has been displayed in embassies in Namibia and Belarus, held in the collections of Norwest Bank and Northwest...