Part 4 of 4: The Space Where Things Are Still Becoming

4/2/2026

In Part 1, we began with Abbott, grounding ourselves in observation and the act of looking. In Part 2, through Christine Lorenz, that structure began to loosen, revealing a space that felt less fixed. In Part 3, we stepped back to consider Cézanne and the philosophical shift toward perception as something unstable and continuous. Now, in Part 4, we arrive at the work of Kristen Letts Kovak, where that instability is no longer a question, but a condition to work within. Continue reading here. 

Part 3 of 4: The Doubt That Changed What We See

3/31/2026

There is a quiet moment in the history of painting when something begins to shift. Not dramatically. Not all at once. But enough that, once it happens, it cannot be undone. Up until that point, painting had largely operated under an agreement. However expressive or interpretive it became, there was still an underlying trust that the world could be understood through observation. That space would hold. That objects would remain intact. That what we see could, in some fundamental way, be relied upon. Continue reading here. 

A Parallel Exhibition: Teaching, Practice, and the Next Generation of Artists

3/28/2026

Presented by Mark Rengers Gallery in collaboration with Sweetwater Center for the Arts, A Showcase of Sweetwater’s 2026 Master Class Artists offers a different, but equally important perspective on artistic practice. If Ambiguous Boundaries asks how we learn to see, this exhibition asks how that way of seeing is passed on. At the center of the show are two artists whose work is grounded not only in their own practice, but in their role as teachers: Ron Donoughe and Kelsie McNair, this year’s Master Class instructors at Sweetwater. Continue reading here. 

Part 2 of 4: ChristINE Lorenz

3/26/2026

There are moments, quiet ones, often unannounced, when the world shifts. Not dramatically. Not in a way that calls attention to itself. But subtly, almost imperceptibly, the familiar begins to feel unfamiliar. The surface of things gives way to something deeper. A texture becomes a landscape. A material becomes a question. For Christine Lorenz, this shift is not an accident. It is the work. Continue reading here. 

Part 1 of 4: Berenice Abbott

3/24/2026

When asked about influence, Christine Lorenz did not hesitate. One of the first names she returned to was Berenice Abbott. That instinct offers a place to begin. Abbott’s work provides a foundation for understanding not only Lorenz’s practice, but the larger question this exhibition explores. She approached photography not simply as an art form, but as a way of making sense of reality itself. Continue reading here. 

Outlier - Brian Johnson & Patrick Lee

3/12/2026

Outliers brings Patrick Lee and Brian Johnson together not simply as two painters, but as two distinct ways of seeing. Their works share a commitment to attention, to the emotional weight of light, and to the belief that painting can hold experience in a way nothing else can. Continue reading here. 

BRIAN JOHNSON: THE PRACTICE THAT SAVES HIM

3/9/2026

There are artists who choose painting, and then there are artists who discover, often slowly and sometimes painfully, that painting has chosen them. When we spoke with Brian Johnson, what became clear was not simply his commitment to the medium. It was the way painting has functioned as a steadying force in his life. A discipline. A vocation. But also, at times, a form of survival. Continue reading here. 

the light that refuses to hurry

3/2/2026

There is a particular kind of light that only exists for a few minutes each evening. It is not day, and it is not night. It hovers. It softens edges. It makes ordinary things feel briefly enchanted. Painters have chased this light for centuries, but few have captured it with the quiet patience of John Singer Sargent in Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1885–86). Continue reading here. 

PaTRICK LEE AND THE COURAGE TO MAKE A MESS

2/23/2026

I’ve learned something working with painters: the people who really know how to make the work tend to be the least precious about it. They’ll stand in front of something that took them days, weeks, sometimes months, and say, almost casually: I might paint over it. Continue reading here. 

When the Table Refused to Behave

2/16/2026

In 1893, a French painter set a table. A bottle of wine. A basket of apples. A folded cloth draped carelessly over the edge. At first glance, it is quiet. Domestic. Unremarkable. The kind of still life that had been painted for centuries. And yet something is unsettled. Continue reading here. 

Part IIIc: The Circle Widens

2/5/2026

Before turning to the deeper ideas that shape Romare Bearden’s work, it helps to situate the artist himself. Romare Howard Bearden (1911–1988) was an American artist, writer, and cultural thinker whose career spanned much of the twentieth century. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, he came of age during the Great Migration and spent formative years between New York City and Pittsburgh, attending Peabody High School before returning to New York for his studies. Continue reading here. 

Part IIIb: The Work

2/2/2026

Before considering the discipline and material intelligence of his work, it helps to situate McCleary “Bunch” Washington (1937–2008) within his historical and artistic context. Born in Philadelphia, Washington trained at the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum School of Art before moving to New York City in the early 1960s. A painter, collage artist, and scholar, he belonged to a generation of African American artists whose careers unfolded largely outside the institutions that defined mainstream recognition at the time. Continue reading here. 

Part IIIa: The Human Story

2/1/2026

Liz de Souza is a writer, researcher, and cultural steward whose work centers on the preservation and interpretation of African American visual art history. The daughter of artist and author M. Bunch Washington, she grew up immersed in the lives and practices of artists, later emerging as a creative voice in her own right. Continue reading here. 

Part II: The Moment After - The Big Splash

1/20/2026

The Big Splash captures a fraction of a second. A burst of water erupts in a pristine California pool. The diver is gone. The cause has already disappeared. What remains is evidence, not action. The painting does not ease us in. It confronts us with aftermath. Continue reading here. 

Part I: Inside The Red Studio

1/12/2026

Before we try to understand a painting, we should let it happen to us. Not explain it. Not place it neatly into history. Not decide too quickly whether we like it. Just notice what it does to our body, our breath, our sense of space. Continue reading here. 

COLLECTIVE GESTURES

10/29/2025

In the weeks before winter, when days contract and light softens, small gestures take on new meaning. A shared glance, a hand on a shoulder, a letter written instead of texted—all reminders that connection rarely depends on grandeur. It’s built in the quiet, the particular, the small. Continue reading here. 

Quiet Spaces: Dan Marsula and the Legacy of Edward Redfield

10/3/2025

Quiet Spaces, now on view at Mark Rengers Gallery through October 25, invites visitors to step into a world where light, land, and memory are given room to breathe. Among the most compelling works in this exhibition are two landscapes — Grazing and Colorado Landscape — that together reveal the heart of Dan Marsula’s artistic philosophy. Continue reading here. 

Quiet Spaces

9/11/2025

The headlining work of Dan Marsula’s upcoming exhibition is Gray Day (2025), a painting that captures what might otherwise go unnoticed. “In solitude on a gray day,” Marsula explains, “I tried to capture the quiet shifts of color in the muted light. Without the sun’s brightness, the world revealed its subtler tones—the pale blues hidden in the clouds, the soft browns, the faint green that lingered in the grass. What first seemed monochromatic slowly displayed a quiet richness, a reminder that beauty often hides in restraint.” Continue reading here. 

Looking Closer: A Conversation Beyond the Canvas with Kristin Divers

8/7/2025

After publishing my recent interview with Master Pastelist Kristin Divers, I started receiving thoughtful questions—ones that suggested readers were craving more. Who inspires Kristin? What artists influence her decisions in color, composition, and subject matter? And why this painting, at this moment? Continue reading here. 

Finding Joy in the Smallest Moments: A Conversation with Kristin Divers

7/23/2025

It starts with a nest. Not one she sought out, but one that found her—hidden in a hanging flower basket, nearly missed during a walk across her own yard. That unexpected discovery became a painting, and then a meditation. Not just on birds or spring or the circle of life—but on what happens when we pause, pay attention, and look for meaning in the ordinary. Continue reading here. 

What is this for?

6/5/2025

There’s something unmistakably magnetic about Eva Conrad’s ceramic work. It doesn’t whisper from a pedestal — it announces itself. Her vessels push against the expectations of pottery, of sculpture, of functionality and form. They’re loud in their intention and quiet in their confidence. They confuse, attract, and ultimately compel viewers to stop, circle back, and ask: “What is this for?”  Continue reading here. 

garden party ii

5/23/2025

What happens when you slow down and spend time with just one painting? This piece is part of an ongoing series from Mark Rengers Gallery that zooms in—not out—to ask deeper questions about a single work. In this case, Garden Party II by Carlos Gamez de Francisco offers more than beauty; it offers a layered visual meditation on identity, history, and the quiet power of concealment. Continue reading here. 

What Power Doesn’t Want You to See

5/3/2025

After Napoleon’s heroics, Goya painted the price. Not long ago, we looked at Napoleon Crossing the Alps—Jacques-Louis David’s portrait of power in full control. Napoleon, rearing on horseback, wrapped in drama and destiny. A myth made to last. Continue reading here. 

the art of power

4/23/2025

In 1801, French painter Jacques-Louis David was commissioned to create an image of General Napoleon Bonaparte that would inspire admiration, fear, and loyalty. The result—Napoleon Crossing the Alps—is one of the most iconic examples of political propaganda ever painted. Continue reading here. 

Everyone Deserves a Portrait: Carlos Gamez de Francisco

4/16/2025

Carlos’s work lives at the intersection of the historical and the contemporary, where opulent aesthetics of the past meet irreverent nods to modern life. When I sat down with him recently, it quickly became clear that this blending of eras is no accident—it’s rooted in a deep reverence for classical art, balanced by a personal mission to challenge the exclusivity of that tradition. Continue reading here. 

understanding guernica

4/9/2025

How lucky am I to live in Sewickley, Pennsylvania—where I can open a gallery, hang beauty on the walls, and welcome neighbors into a space of peace and creativity. This isn’t by chance. It’s because of those who came before us—our ancestors, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters—who fought for peace and freedom. The kind still being fought for today by our Ukrainian neighbors across the globe. Continue reading here. 

how to choose the right art

3/26/2025

When it comes to purchasing art, the first question many people ask me is, "How do I find art that I like?" The process of discovering art that resonates with you should be fun and personal. Whether you’re looking to add a statement piece to your living room or find something small and subtle for your bedroom, the key is to explore art in a way that sparks your interest visually. Here’s a simple guide to help you start this exciting journey! Continue reading here. 

from garden to gallery

3/17/2025

Botanical art is one of the rare artistic disciplines that bridges the gap between science and aesthetics, blending meticulous accuracy with visual beauty. Unlike most other art forms, which are open to interpretation and emotion, botanical art is about truth and documentation. Throughout history, artists have worked alongside scientists to illustrate plants with precision, ensuring that botanical knowledge is both accessible and enduring. Continue reading here. 

erin kaya: exploring the world through art

2/28/2025

Chicago-based artist Erin Kaya is making waves in the contemporary art world with her bold abstract compositions and structured geometric patterns. Her work, deeply influenced by her travels, the cityscape, and historical art movements, invites viewers into a world of color, order, and movement. In a recent interview, Kaya shared insights into her creative process, inspirations, and the personal philosophy behind her work. Continue reading here. 

A Life of Art, Craft, and Purpose

2/24/2025

Now in my early sixties, I find myself exactly where I want to be—content, fulfilled, and immersed in the world of art. As the owner of a gallery and frame shop, I spend my days surrounded by beauty, embarking on new creative projects, including writing, making art and collaborating with creative colleagues who have become dear friends. My success isn’t measured in wealth or accolades but in the richness of my experiences and the deep appreciation I have for the artistic process. Continue reading here.