Susan Jane Walp's Still Life Paintings on Paper at Tibor de Nagy Gallery

Susan Jane Walp's fifth exhibition at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, running from September 10 to October 17, 2015, at 724 Fifth Avenue in New York City, focuses exclusively on works on paper. The show marks her first to concentrate on this medium, revealing a slightly looser approach with brushier marks and visible ground in some pieces. Walp's still lifes typically feature square, nearly symmetrical compositions viewed from above, with central objects like bowls of blueberries or sliced oranges. Supporting elements such as paper sheets, kitchen knives, or scrunchies surround these focal points. Her paintings, subtle in color and modeling, convey an airy depth and palpable small movements, as seen in Three Zinnias in a Glass of Water (2012), where blossoms shift like galaxies above a reflective vase. Some works, like Gerbera I (2014), depart from the square format, capturing a single flower's vigor. Others, such as Glass Vase with Etruscan Kantharos and Drapery (2014), abandon near-symmetry for oppositions of objects across the surface, using a reduced palette of grayed blue-greens and earth hues. Walp's empathy for subjects and gift for characterization through color and detail animate her work, though occasional static alignments or depictive colors appear. The exhibition underscores that her power stems from intuitive comprehension of rhythmic character rather than centered symmetry, emphasizing momentous visual events over symbolism.