Black vs. White

Friday evening, between some heavy downpours, we went to the opening reception at Robert Lange Studios for the show Black vs. White. A good though incongruous omen for the show was the brief appearance of a rainbow just as we turned onto Queen St. The theme, or conceit, was to have many of the gallery artists and several invitees create pairs of paintings contrasting black and white. There were some very lovely works--Robert Lange's play on Ceci n'est pas une pipe, Kirsten Moran's tiny Greek goddesses, Megan Aline's Whisper and Hum. (I am, not surprisingly, drawn to small pieces.) There is always good painting to be seen at this gallery and I always enjoy and am energized by a visit there. The featured painters are generally young, the paintings crisp and competent, and there's just enough of a whiff of whimsy for lightness. These artists, and the gallery owners, are having fun while they're working very hard.

(And check out the photos from the opening: who's that famous artist in the first one?)