The Comenian

Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Arts & Culture

Media Credit: Moravian.edu

Now through the 23rd of November, the trees inside Payne Gallery are even more vibrant than the leaves falling outside.

The current exhibit, "The American Landscape: A Painter's Tale of The Hudson River, The Bethlehem Steel Plant, The Lehigh River," features paintings by Virginia Creighton. These deceptively familiar locations are transformed into colorful landscapes of imaginary worlds.

Despite their strangeness, Creighton's paintings uncover new life and energy in the gray and commonplace. At first glance, this exhibit seems to be a collection of paintings as flatly colorful as pop art. However, with a more careful viewing, the patterns of land, water and vegetative life begin to emerge.

The colors used in the painting are not necessarily related to the actual coloring of the object. Instead, like the fauves, Creighton uses color to communicate mood and emotion.

This exhibit offers a refreshing perspective on a region that inspired the Hudson River School and the Pennsylvania Impressionists. It will be of special interest to anyone familiar with the permanent collection at Payne Gallery, the iconic steel stacks or the Lehigh and Hudson Rivers.

In many ways, the painting "Hudson River Tree Throwing Oranges" is a representative example of Creighton's work. The natural world is the subject of the painting, but humanity is still present in the scene.
In bright, clear colors, the painting shows a wide view of the Hudson River. In the foreground, a slender tree haloed in bubble-gum pink bends in the breeze that blows across the painting. A handful of orange orbs float whimsically before a backdrop of striped clouds and sky.

A more locally inspired work, "Ermine Robes (Railroad Tracks)," depicts no specific, familiar vista, but rather a composite that feels like it ought to exist. In muted greens and purples, the steel stacks can be seen in the central distance heading a landscape that is both river and railroad. The tracks are in black, alternated with pastel color to create the ermine robe effect referenced in the title.

To an extent, Creighton's work is a commentary on global warming; if the climate continues in its current direction, we may soon be growing orange trees on the Hudson River. Still, an ominous subject has not yielded a menacing painting. On the contrary, her paintings show a deep love of the natural world that gently prompt greater care for the environment.

The bones of the landscape, of earth and water are present in Creighton's work. Color and abstractions are not arbitrary but are holistically developed from a deep understanding of place; Creighton has clearly spent significant time in her locations. Unexpected color combinations, her delightfully creative titles, and her pervasive, subtle humor all make for a charming viewing experience.

My only disappointment is the absence of an artistic statement. Meeting Virginia Creighton and hearing her perspective only made the exhibit more enjoyable.

Creighton's work, however, is more than capable of speaking for itself.

Come visit Payne Gallery before Nov. 23 to enjoy energetic visions of the local landscape.

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