Elegant, Spare Botanicals

A new exhibition of paintings by Alexis England, “Lessons,” is currently making its home at Amenia’s Troutbeck. The artist’s botanical images prove to be a good match for the hotel’s beautiful setting, alongside the Webutuck River. With “Lessons,” as with other recent series by the artist, England has pared down the canvases to the most basic elements. Here, green and white are the only colors she makes use of, allowing silhouette and brushstrokes to shine. Credit to the artist, who brings both softness and strength to her paintings, bold and feathery lines crossing and joining in the same field.

These are not the detail-oriented renderings of a 16th century naturalist, but rather ethereal impressions of the botanical world. In smaller canvases, the plainly named “s,” “i” and the beguiling “h,” she seems to play with the connection between the plant world and that of sea, her swirling lines suggesting jellyfish, anemone, the grooved bands of shells. In other, larger works like “n” and “f,” the chaos of the natural world is well captured. Here is the sense of gardens at the height of summer, or in the slump of fall, of the world of plants, alive and entangled. 

“Lessons” is showing through Aug.12 at Troutbeck, 515 Leedsville Road, Amenia, NY. For further information, https://www.troutbeck.com or call 845-789-1555.

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