Recent Work by Nancy H. Taplin

"First, I would like to say that this show is replacing that of the artist, James McGarrell, whose son was tragically killed in the earthquake in Haiti. I have done a painting in response to that catastrophic event, titled Haiti, Jan 12, 2010, 4:53 PM. At the time of the earthquake, I happened to be at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, enthralled with the fabulous retrospective of Kandinsky, completely unaware of what was taking place in Haiti. Kandinsky said, 'The more frightening the world becomes . . . the more art becomes abstract.'"

"The immediacy of that moment is actually what this new work is about. I call it gestural painting. The works on paper could be likened to calligraphy or a tree falling, the act of its falling with tremendous energy, vertical to horizontal, its impact creating an upward movement of its parts in a weightless moment. The works on canvas are more precise, creating microcosms within the larger whole. There is a vulnerability to their structure as there is in all nature."

Nancy H. Taplin studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1960-1965 and is currently affiliated with Carol Craven Gallery in Vineyard Haven, MA, and BigTown Gallery in Rochester, VT.