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Janet Hamrick at Lemberg - Ferndale, Mich
Art in America, Jan, 2003 by Lynn Crawford
From a distance, Janet Hamrick's abstract paintings can look as if they were made of printed fabric; on closer examination it becomes clear that the artist's medium is oil on wood. Hamrick's linear patterns and swaths of color can suggest architectural interiors as well as natural phenomena such as pebbles, rippling water, horizons. They can also, despite their modest size--many measure 1 foot square--summon forth things of larger scale.
The deep-aqua hues and composition of Heart, Soul, Nowhere to Go (2001) evoke the vastness of sea and sky. Its left half contains a multitude of horizontal, hard-edge, blue-green stripes against a wood ground stained gray-green. These repetitious, densely packed bands resemble Venetian blinds (which you must stand near to see out of and which do not provide a clear view). On the right are some vertical oblongs that suggest large, loose drapery (something to easily pull back for a full view) and hint at the presence of a human figure. Autumn Frost (2001) also evokes the folds of a curtain through repeated calligraphic marks that have been applied with a stencil. Another work, Deep Night (2001), deftly combines ethereal swirls and thin bands of color to convey both resilience and fragility.
Hamrick's influences range from Agnes Martin to the late British painter Ben Nicholson. She is a consistently effective colorist: you can get lost in her blues, aubergines, beiges and deep purples. Intriguingly, she adds lovely drawings on the backs of the panels. (If asked by informed visitors, gallery personnel during the show were willing to take the paintings off the wall to display these hidden elements.) You can think of these additions, which complement but do not repeat the "official" painting, as a way for the artist to channel her residual energy or simply to use up leftover paint, but they also seem to be a kind of private afterthought to the public side of her work. This mysterious, concealed element fits nicely with the title that Hamrick gave the show, "Dreamwalk."
COPYRIGHT 2003 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
