Reflections and Refractions: Online Exhibition

  • Gallery Henoch is pleased to present Reflections and Refractions, an exclusive online exhibition that focuses on artists who have explored...

    Gallery Henoch is pleased to present Reflections and Refractions, an exclusive online exhibition that focuses on artists who have explored light and its various forms in their work. 

     

    Light is a fundamental aspect of every painting, although it functions in varying ways. It can serve to heighten a subject or to create realistic depictions of life. An artist may add shadows and reflections that trick the eye into seeing a three-dimensional piece rather than a two-dimensional canvas. In still lifes and landscapes, the rendering of light and reflection inevitably performs a leading role in the realization of the final product. 

  • Steve Mills’ paintings are characterized by keen attention to detail and technical mastery, both hallmarks of the photorealist genre. His...

    Steve Mills’ paintings are characterized by keen attention to detail and technical mastery, both hallmarks of the photorealist genre. His body of work covers a variety of domestic subjects, such as newspapers, marbles, and crossword puzzles. Using light to illuminate color and cast elaborate shadows, the artist creates an augmented sense of reality. In his commission “Marbles on Marble” he paints magnified glass marbles with intricate swirled designs. His use of bright white accents on the surface of each orb creates a heightened realism that adds three-dimensionality to the painting. In the two marbles on the right, elements from the surrounding environment can be noticed. These reflections add depth to the object but also clue the viewer in to what may be happening outside the realm of the canvas.

  • Sunghee Jang’s realist paintings are explorations of light and its effect on surfaces. She explains: “Light is an essential element...
    Sunghee Jang’s realist paintings are explorations of light and its effect on surfaces. She explains: “Light is an essential element of breathing life into solid objects and areas created by humans. It virtually creates a space that does not exist.” This is especially true in “Daylight”, where sunlight filters through geometric openings and refracts on the floor creating hazy shapes. This approach to painting allows Jang to portray the ethereal character of light, showcasing shadow and reflection in otherwise common architectural spaces, enabling one to see an everyday phenomenon from a new perspective. 
  • Like Steve Mills and Sunghee Jang, Steve Smulka focuses much of his attention on the handling of light. He employs...

    Like Steve Mills and Sunghee Jang, Steve Smulka focuses much of his attention on the handling of light. He employs Mason jars, vintage seltzer bottles, wine decanters, vases and water pitchers to capture the way light bends, refracts, illuminates, and distorts its surroundings. Painting only in natural light, his work takes on an atmospheric quality as the layers of glass seem to melt into one another. In this way, the light reflecting on glass becomes almost abstract as the shapes and colors blur together to create the desired effect. In “Midsummer Day” the trees in the background become foggy through the glass of the mason jar, abstracting the forms and creating prismatic light effects. 

     

  • Making use of divergent styles and approaches, each artist investigates the effects of natural light on his or her subjects.