Abstract is Not a Style

Hollis Taggart is pleased to announce Abstract is Not a Style: Five Women Painters, a group exhibition featuring paintings by five contemporary female artists, Cat Balco, Catherine Haggarty, Liz Leggett, Kylie Manning and Adrienne Elise Tarver. Curated by Paul Efstathiou, Director of Contemporary Art, the exhibition will open in our Southport, CT location (330 Pequot Avenue) on November 5th and will be on view through December 12th. An opening reception will take place on November 5th, 5pm-8pm with several of the artists in attendance. Masks will be required and all COVID protocols will be followed.

Joan Mitchell once said, "Abstract is not a style. I simply want to make a surface work. This is just a use of space and form; it’s an ambivalence of forms and space." Exploring this conceptual definition of abstraction, Abstract is Not a Style brings together five women painters with distinct approaches to form, color, gesture, and the use of representational imagery. Cat Balco and Liz Leggett examine the expressive potential of mark-making. Balco uses brooms of various sizes to create striking compositions with a limited number of bold strokes, while Leggett layers thinner intense marks, which allude to imagery and evoke instinctive emotional responses. Catherine Haggarty considers the relationship between gesture and language, creating paintings with hieroglyphic-like signs that reference the figure, animals, and architectural space. Focusing more closely on the interplay between abstraction and figuration, Kylie Manning, and Adrienne Elise Tarver probe the relationship between the figure and landscapes that are both beautiful and dystopic.

"Abstract is Not a Style intends to highlight a harmonious yet diverse collection of abstract and representational works by contemporary practitioners working in Brooklyn and Connecticut. Assembling the works of five unique artists is very rewarding since it sparks an interesting and exciting interplay between the compositions," said Paul Efstathiou. "We are thrilled to present these five talented artists to our Fairfield County community, and continue to grow our artists’ networks in Connecticut." 

For more information about Abstract is Not a Style or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at info@hollistaggart.com or +1 212.628.4000.