Gallery 1 + Beacon Room: The Only Way is Through, Robin Adler

Life, nature, civilization, and history, all are cyclical. That which is strong collapses. While our culture celebrates disruptors, we are humbled to find that we are only a part of a larger system. Imagined freedoms are short-lived fantasies; angels in the snow.

Like all that came before, noise, chaos, friction will come and will go. There can be comfort, delight as well as despair, in this knowledge. As bright days are fleeting, as we face the darkest hours, we can also trust that darkness will relent, just as winter gives way to spring. And on it goes.

Unless…Adler wonders, is there another angle from which to look? Can a circle be viewed as a spiral; can the familiar be viewed from different elevations? Can we envision a perspective where life does not repeat? What if setbacks are suffered and then we learn, shift and course correct to a new future? Innovations and disruptions may still evoke the past, yet outcomes differ.

In The Only Way is Through, Adler experiments with the idea of disrupting the current frenetic cycle mirrored in the repetitive patterns of her work. Hers is a response to the chaotic cultural shift that we are living through right now. The scale is bigger reflecting the immensity of these troubled times.

In Adler’s new work, she seeks a place of solace and room to breathe. Stillness has replaced the many layered shapes, energetic patterns, and wildly unrestrained movement that is a hallmark of her earlier work. Adler seeks groundedness, calm. She still builds layers and her colors are often saturated, yet these works are lighter. Like spring, the energy is still decidedly spirited, and there is levity as if emerging from the darkness - a path she offers to us all.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Robin Adler is a contemporary abstract artist living in Woodstock, NY. She transcribes emotional experience into visual form. Using line, shape, and color, Adler works intuitively, pushing past limitations toward freedom and possibility. She works in various media including oil, acrylic, encaustic and print. Adler explores her inner landscape and the natural environment for inspiration.

Adler is a member artist of BAU Gallery. Her work has been featured in exhibitions throughout the East Coast. Adler is also a member of the art collectives, Spliced Connector and The Drawing Galaxy.

Robin Adler, Breathing Room, Acrylic on (unstretched) canvas, 48 x 72 inches, 2024