Nadia Haji Omar | Bayne Peterson
Sept. 9 - Nov. 1

The gallery is delighted to open the fall season with a two-person exhibition of new paintings by Nadia Haji Omar (b. 1985, Melbourne, Australia) and new sculptures by Bayne Peterson (b. 1984, Palo Alto, CA).  The exhibition will be on view from September 9th to November 1st.  Please join the gallery on Wednesday, September 9th from 6-8pm for an opening reception.

Small-scale 10 x 10 inch square paintings and slightly larger rectangular works by Haji Omar feature intricate patterns made with acrylic, natural sand, tempera, and dyes.  Imagery from tropical beaches--plants, coral, and the scales and bioluminescence of deep sea fish--provide a framework for her free and experimental approach to mark-making and patterning.  In her rectangular paintings, fluid striations of alternately watery and dense forms suggest an aerial view of mapped terrain.

Peterson will show a group of small sculptures installed on pedestals.  The works feature fluid outlines and soft circular forms that interlock, undulate, and sprawl away from a vertical axis.  The artist carves each sculpture from multiple chunks of materials that he initially joins together with dyed epoxy.  These materials include dyed plywood, natural wood, and powdered granite that Peterson mixes with resin and casts. Carving away material from the assembled form, Peterson reveals variegated lines, concentric circles, and ovals present in the striated, dyed wood, which in turn guide the sculpture's final form.

Both artists mine the genres of rectilinear and biomorphic abstraction in their respective mediums of painting and sculpture.  Soft outlines reveal rich explorations of patterning and color.

Nadia Haji Omar currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.  She received her MFA from SVA in 2014 and her BA from Bard College.  Her work has been exhibited at Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri, Lanka, 68 Projects, Berlin, XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE, Achter de Boom, NY, NY, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, and Reverse Space, Brooklyn, NY, among other venues.

Bayne Peterson currently lives and works in Providence, RI.  He received his MFA in sculpture from RISD in 2013 and his BA from Vassar College.  His work has been exhibited at Proxy, Providence, RI, This Friday or Next Friday, Brooklyn, NY, and Primary Projects, Miami, FL, among other venues.  He currently teaches in the Graduate Studies Department of the Rhode Island school of Design.