2col Bayou

Melissa Bonin, “Bayou through Moss & Branches,” oil on canvas, 24 by 48 inches.

FOR 9/14

MELISSA BONIN, KEVIN CONKLIN AT FENN GALLERY SEPT. 20 w/1cut

avv/gs set 8/30 #710937

WOODBURY, CONN. — Fenn Gallery premieres New Orleans landscape artist Melissa Bonin, who will exhibit with cityscape painter Kevin Conklin, in an exhibit on view September 20–October 28. An artist reception will be Saturday, September 22, from 4 to 6 pm.

The resilient character of Bonin’s Louisiana birthplace emanates from her impressionistically colored landscapes. Although also at portrait artist, Bonin prefers the freedom landscapes permit to blur the distinction between abstraction and reality.

The humid and hazy light of Louisiana that creates rich color and obscures detail is Bonin’s entree to dreamy swamp and river scenes: dark, blurry images in which the indistinct trees seem to melt into their own shadows, which in turn melt into the water and sky.

Using smeary mixtures of color set against glowing expanses, she captures tree bark with long, serpentine strokes and tangled strands of moss with calligraphic curves. Bonin paints wet-on-wet. She thins her oil paints into a soupy mix, which is then applied quickly onto a canvas soaked with thinner, and tries to complete a painting in one sitting.

A Connecticut native, Conklin chooses the gritty and angular architecture of the city to explore his fascination with light, shadow and formal abstract relationships. The building facades in his cityscapes are predominantly washed in warm browns, peaches and mauves; his brushstrokes at times softly flowing and at others, tight and hard-edged.

Before dedicating himself full-time to painting, Conklin enjoyed a successful career as an illustrator with clients including American Express, Citicorp, Duracell, Southern New England Telephone and Save the Children. His illustrator’s eye is still evident, however, in his ability to capture both particularity of the moment and the often fervent quality of urbanity.

Fenn Gallery is at 345 Main Street South. For information, www.fenngallery.com or 203-263-3449.