Beverly Fisher and Studio Light Space

 

Artist and designer Beverly Fisher has recently moved to Tucson, Arizona, from Philadelphia and she is working in a beautiful old adobe building in the Barrio Viejo. The space is a classic structure from the middle of the nineteenth century, with thick walls to keep the fierce summer heat at bay, and an interior of whitewashed walls and flagstone floors and a high ceiling with exposed beams and rafters. In addition to making her own work in the structure, Fisher exhibits work by herself and other artists in a space which seems tailor-made to display abstract work in the best possible environment.

Beverly Fisher, A Passage Series, ink on paper on board, 20 ins. x 20 ins. x 2 ins. 2021

Fishers's work consists of ink drawings on paper. Their linearity implies a high degree of formal organization and an imposed structure, but on close inspection it's clear that the final image is arrived at by a process of exploration. In the piece picture above, what appears to be a grid is in fact rows of lines which bend and curve to and fro, setting up a rhythm of fluctuation and uncertainty which is only resolved by stepping back from the surface and seeing them again as a collective. Heavier, darker marks here and there provide a contrasting emphasis, as does the network of spidery lines and dots that criss-cross the picture and work to fracture or at least interrupt the ordered world of the grid.

Jury Smith, Shift, clay, underglaze, stain, 10 ins. x 11 ins. x 10 ins. 

Sculptures by Jury Smith are also on display: exquisite abstract forms in clay and earthenware, some of which are polygons, others with echoes of the human figure, but all of them executed in a lustrous monochrome that looks superb in this space.

Maude Andrade, Graphite #2, graphite & oil on board, 24 ins. x 24 ins. x 2 ins. 

Finally, there are several pieces by Maude Andrade which are part drawing and part painting. They play with the textures of graphite and oil, the graphite applied to create a band of hard surface and the oil paint applied to set up a viscous contrast. The dividing line between these two areas is never quite at the halfway point, which possibly implies a horizon line and invites us to see them as dark landscapes. In common with all of the work on display in this small group exhibition, Andrade's pieces provide the pleasure of seeing well-made and intelligently executed abstract art.

Fisher intends to host exhibitions of work with guest artist three to four times a year. The striking interior space of the building and the high quality of the exhibited work makes Light Space an invaluable new addition to the artistic landscape of this part of the southwest.

Studio Light Space, 307 South Convent Avenue, Tucson, is open by advance appointment from Thursday to Saturday each week.