Penny Kronengold's Swimmers Exhibition at First Street Gallery Reveals Daring Paintings

Penny Kronengold's exhibition of modestly scaled bathers and public swimming pool scenes ran from March 5 to 23, 2002, at First Street Gallery in New York. The paintings and drawings, though appearing safe in reproduction, reveal daring and accomplished inventions in person. Kronengold's work combines southern color with northern drawing, employing painterly devices like sgraffito and exposed canvas without affectation. Her color serves as a means of drawing and defining form rather than pure decoration. The artist's handling shows influences ranging from Bonnard and Kokoschka to deeper Western pictorial traditions. Two paintings of the same scene hung back to back demonstrate her evolution toward freer, more daring compositions. The exhibition was located at 526 W 26th Street Ninth Floor in New York City, with gallery hours Tuesday through Saturday from 11 AM to 6 PM.