Joan Becker: Nature/Human October 6, 2008

The Gallery will host the debut exhibition of Joan Becker. 'Nature/Human' features large scale works using gouache on paper. She begins the pieces drawing from direct observation but allows the painting to develop on its own as the image comes into view. Her pieces are carefully drawn and composed and her color sensibility is simultaneously sensitive and bold. Becker controls her exuberant color through purposeful composition allowing her to maintain a level of harmony that is at once "jazzy" and deliberate. While her subject matter typically consists of figures and still lifes, her choices within these categories is not traditional. Her figures are costumed with wigs and birthday cake hats, and her still lifes are filled with the jumble of objects that almost hide the careful decisions she makes in her drawing.