May 11 - July 1, 2023
From Baker Schorr Fine Art:
“I am often wowed by works of art as they arrive at the gallery, but I have to say, this collection of paintings by Jane Piper and photographs by Edwin Hale Lincoln takes my breath away!! Our upcoming exhibition Elegant Complexity juxtaposes two artists from two time periods, using two different mediums, whose modernist abstractions are complex, sophisticated, and beautifully complementary.
Recognized by critics as one of Philadelphia’s foremost painters and teachers, Jane Piper, 1916-1991, enjoyed a career that spanned fifty years and included thirty-five solo shows. Known for her abstract still lifes, she has been described as an ‘instinctive individualist’ whose independent spirit characterized her art, education and approach to teaching.
Building on the French modernist tradition of Matisse and Cezanne, Piper gave color precedence over representation. She was interested in spatial organization and in creating space through color. By 1952, her work was growing increasingly abstract, and she unexpectedly started using white as the dominant color of her palette. Piper liked “the spatial sense of brilliance” it brought to her other colors. “I try to create order by cutting out, with white, a part of the chaos I create,” she said in 1978.
Piper studied with Hans Hofmann in Provincetown and with Arthur Carles at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. She taught painting and drawing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the mid 1950s and the Philadelphia College of Art from 1956-1985. Her works are in numerous collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the National Academy of Design.
Ken Johnson describes Edwin Hale Lincoln’s photographs as ‘a marvel of order and ornament’ where ‘nature itself emerges as an artist of infinite inventiveness’. Edwin Hale Lincoln , 1848-1938, was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, the son of a Universalist minister. He served as a drummer in the Civil War and then as a page in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In his late 20s Lincoln was a partner in a photography business, which led to his life’s passion– a 20-year project that in 1914 culminated in a 400-picture catalog called ”Wild Flowers of New England.” Baker Schorr is delighted to show 50 of the pictures in this exhibition, all first edition platinum prints from 8 x 10 glass negatives taken in 1906 and 1907.
Both modernist and transcendentalist, Lincoln’s use of the platinum process, along with close-up shots taken against flat backgrounds, resulted in tonally complex images with remarkable depth. A true lover of nature, Lincoln’s procedure was to dig up his floral specimens, take them to his studio for their portraits and then return them, still living, to their homes. Lincoln’s compositions are cropped so that each perfect arrangement of blossoms, stems and leaves verges on abstraction, with a beauty almost severe.
You will want to experience these artists individually and together! Plan to join us for the Opening Reception of Elegant Complexity Thursday, May 11, 5:30 – 8 pm at Baker Schorr! Valet parking will be provided.”
Reception: May 11, 2023 | 5:30–8 pm
200 Spring Park Drive, Suite 105
Midland, 79705 Texas
432.687.1268
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