Maggie Siner: Hommage to Ordinary Things

February 18th - March 15th, 2023

Maggie Siner's newest exhibition, Hommage to Ordinary Things, opens February 18th, with an Artist Talk by Maggie at 5:00pm, followed by the opening reception from 5:30-6:30pm.  Every painting in the exhibition demonstrates Maggie's mastery of translating space and shapes into a single moment in time. Her subject matter encompasses her many views of objects, shapes, and color relationships found in the Ordinary Things of our lives. 

Artist Statement

I paint directly from life; a live and immediate response to what I see. These are mostly ordinary objects and secret spaces revealed by patterns of light. Objects themselves are not the stimulus to paint; more often it is the discovery of shapes and color relationships. Light is a great beautifier - it changes the plainest event into something extraordinary. Unusual juxtapositions of objects can be affecting, profound or humorous. Empty spaces between things have a mysterious power of their own. I am moved by how weight, movement and story are revealed by gravity, by falling folds.  Each painting is a moment in time with a definite truth. Accuracy is critical! I don’t mean the accuracy of ‘objective reality’ (whatever that is), I mean the truth of my sensations. Real world motifs are temporal, as is the painting experience itself, so there is an urgency to getting it all down in paint. This motivates fast-moving brushwork but is not necessarily compatible with the critical imperative of getting it exactly right. Much scraping and repainting occurs.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Siner began her studies at the Art Students League of New York in 1968, graduated from Boston University (BFA) in 1973 and from American University (MFA) in 1976 where she studied under Robert D'Arista. She has lived for extended periods in France, Italy and China. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums for four decades and is in hundreds of collections around the world.