The circles and lines react to space with a different sense of visual motion.  The circles are primarily static and tend to ground the paintings. The collective motion they offer suggests an in and out movement due to their varied proportions.  The lines are more dynamic as to suggestive motion and appear to move up, down and across the canvas. This relationship is repeated from one painting to the next but the problem is there is no significant variation.  The proportions of the canvases change and there are subtle differences in the comprehensive patterning but, as a body of work, the paintings take on a strong serial quality. For all the intensity of a single work, collectively the impact is blunted somewhat by a roomful of them. The works on paper offer a great deal more variety as well as a different, more easily discernable subtlety than the paintings.

This exhibition is comprised of two installations; one is pigmented wax encaustic on wood and the other is made up of very small painted and layered acrylic panels. In both cases the white gallery wall is successfully incorporated as part of the work. Although each piece is comprised of individual objects, both establish complete entities from those objects.  This is an important element for understanding their content which beautifully engages concept without discounting

Ginny Fox at Soho 20 Gallery

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Atsuko Tanaka at Paula Cooper Gallery

the materials.  From a distance each piece takes on a musical resonance.  The placement, proportions and color of the individual forms contribute to this notion as does the role of the wall in providing background. One lingering question is where does the work end and the wall begin? This in turn goes right to the core of the artist�s subject matter which is to explore physical and spiritual infinity.

Ginny Fox (detail) at Soho 20 Gallery

So much for the big picture, an up close view indicates the artist�s rich handling of the materials. Fox is quite adept with her materials and presents a very pleasing mixture of color and texture.  Each of the horizontal squares of color functions as a diminutive abstract painting in its own right. 

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