Locks Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Philadelphia artist Elizabeth Osborne. The gallery has worked with the artist for the past four decades, and this exhibition represents a continuation of Osborne’s landscape paintings that highlight her vivid and immersive compositions, many of which stem from the locations of her travels. From the hills and shores of Maine and Nova Scotia to the architectural details of Mexico, the artist navigates the transitions between abstraction and realism. The exhibition will run from November 1 through December 14, 2019. An opening reception with the artist will be held on Friday, November 1st from 5:30 to 7:30 PM.
Osborne’s work has been described as "living landscapes that integrate complex methods of seeing and representing nature." Utilizing a technique of controlled pours and stains on unprimed canvas became a vital breakthrough for the artist in the ‘70s. Aware of a similar technique pioneered by painters such as Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis, Osborne was initially interested in capturing the light and transparency of her watercolors and translating those qualities to the canvas. These new works continue to explore bold, color-drenched landscapes that bridge ideas about formalist concerns - particularly luminosity with experiential perceptions of nature, atmosphere, and vistas.
Elizabeth Osborne has exhibited extensively throughout the United States for over forty years. Her work is included in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington; the James A. Michener Museum of Art, Doylestown; the Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia; and the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Osborne has received numerous awards including the Percy M. Owens Memorial Award, a MacDowell Colony Grant, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award (American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters), and a Fulbright Fellowship. In 2009, Osborne was the focus of a major retrospective and accompanying publication The Color of Light at PAFA. In 2015, Veils of Color: Juxtapositions and Recent Work by Elizabeth Osborne debuted at The James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA and traveled to The Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA in 2016. That same year, her 1960s figurative canvases were explored in greater depth at a solo exhibition, Elizabeth Osborne: The 1960s at the Delaware Art Museum.
