Erin O’Brien culls the forms in her tender abstract paintings from personal photographs and sketches. Through simple line drawings, she extracts compositions from the silhouettes of, and spaces between, objects or people in these mementos.
The palettes are improvised. One color impacts her choice for the next as she considers how shape, color, and the linen surface interact.
O’Brien is interested in what is revealed and concealed, absent and present, allowing for multiple meanings and a sense of uncertainty. The title of the exhibition further underscores this concern: “Room Tone is taken from the world of film and video production and refers to the sound of a room when everyone in it is still and silent. The phrase refers to what is present within a perceived absence.”
