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CLAIRE KLAREWICZ-OKSER AT KATHARINA RICH PERLOW

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NEW YORK CITY — The Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery will present an exhibition of Claire Klarewicz-Okser’s new paintings, on view April 5–May 1. The artist returns to the gallery after a hiatus of a few years for her sixth solo show here.

Klarewicz-Okser’s realist figurative paintings draw the viewer into a psychological terrain rife with tension and ambiguity. Like the glazed, glossy surfaces of the paintings themselves, women smartly dressed and coifed in dresses and suits recalling the golden age of Art Deco, Klarewicz-Okser’s characters hold a dramatic presence enhanced by their rather empty, theatrical setting.

The focus of the paintings is the figure, yet the ambiguous background it inhabits adds another layer of mystery, reminding one of the artist de Chirico’s paintings.

As a body of work, Klarewicz-Okser explores the progression of growth from childhood through adolescence and adulthood, focusing on a woman’s “sense of place” within an intricate world. In her past series of work, Klarewicz-Okser mainly concentrated on painting women and children, which compared her often to the famous Russian/French painter Balthus.

In this exhibition however, Klarewicz-Okser includes the male figure mostly detached from its female partner. Her use of vivid color, high-contrasting lights and darks, coupled with the physical as well as psychological tension, creates a sense of uncertainty and intrigue.

The gallery is in the Fuller Building at 41 East 57th Street. For information, 212-644-7171.