MAXWELL STEVENS "SPRING ESSENCE"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:MAXWELL STEVENS _"SPRING ESSENCE" NEW PAINTINGS_ NOVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 3, 2017 OPENING RECEPTION: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 6-8 PM GALLERY HOURS: TUESDAY - SATURDAY 12-7 PM, SUNDAY 12-5 PM, AND BY APPOINTMENT NEW YORK - ONETWENTYEIGHT is excited to present MAXWELL STEVENS _"SPRING ESSENCE"_ a new suite of oil paintings on canvas and unique, hand-carved mahogany panels.  Seeking in painterly terms what some theologians refer to as 'thin places" or "thin spaces", and taking the position that these divine places are more psychologically than geographically defined, the artist has turned towards private scenes in his own home during Easter weekend as his point of departure. Superimposed with a splashy and colorfully vivid palette of scarlet, fuchsia and rose complimented by minty greens, the visually tactile abstractions display an increase in clarity and fluidity, blending areas between abstraction and figure, with lightly scraped passages shifting in and out of focus.  Slight progressions in time are indicated by a clock on the wall and the shifting emotional tenor of the conversation, and these changes are further mirrored by watery abstractions that fluctuate and spill across each scene in a progressive manner. Deepening his commitment to his multi-layered approach and to the materiality of his works, canvases have been glazed dozens of times to achieve a mirror finish, while retaining a painterly approach to rendering each delicate scene with thousands of tiny brushstrokes blended together to fuse each picture.  Curvilinear gestures slide across the glassy images, culminating in vibrant, floral abstractions that seem to hover and blossom over each miniaturized scene, inviting the viewer's gaze from both near and afar as they become both voyeur and participant in the artist's search for a _thin place_ through his art. Accompanying the _Spring Essence_ suite are oval panel paintings cut from heavy slabs of mahogany, their beveled edges gently curving to meet the wall, while fragments of earlier deconstructed paintings are collaged onto raw linen, standing in stark contrast to the freshly painted abstractions, creating a historical subtext within the overall presentation, allowing past and present to coalesce together. MAXWELL STEVENS _"SPRING ESSENCE" NEW PAINTINGS_ is on view from November 1 through December 3, 2017, with an opening reception Saturday, November 4, 2017, 6 - 8 pm. For inquiries please contact the gallery at _springessencepaintings@gmail.com _or +1.212.674.0244, +1.646.341.0175.