Chromatic Exhibition

Exhibition Dates: April 9th 2021 to June 26th 2021

Bentley Gallery is pleased to present the CHROMATIC exhibition, a collection of stunning works by Heather Hutchison, Dion Johnson, Michael Reafsnyder, Richard Roth, and Eric Zammitt. 

All of these works start by stopping us in our tracks. That happens when you see something worth looking at: an object or occurrence that is out of the ordinary, that arrests your attention, piques your curiosity, and makes you want to know more—while experiencing more and more.

The paintings by the five artists in this gallery exhibition do not look like one another. But they do something very similar: reveal how comfortable each of us is with our inability to understand what’s going on right before our eyes. As we respond to their works, we show our true colors, either slowing down, paying attention, and keeping our egos from getting in the way of our perceptions; or pausing briefly and moving on, treating their works as if they’re nothing more than pretty pictures or pleasant decorations, whose attractions are entirely a matter of taste: to be embraced or rejected just because we like them, or not. When you get right down to it, these two reactions are the only options these works give viewers. Dividing us into two groups, the works by these five artists reveal that abstract painting has social consequences, and that it has a lot more to do with who we are as people—in other words, our identities—than is often assumed, even by people who should know better.

Heather Hutchison | Approaching | ID: 202103061 | 32.75 x 33 x 3.75inches | mixed media, reclaimed Plexiglas, birch plywood box | 2021

Dion Johnson | Acrobat | ID: 202012161 | 72 x 48 x 1.5 inches | acrylic on canvas | 2020

Michael Reafsnyder | Sweet Thing | ID: 202103134 | 60.25 x 90.25 x 1.5 inches | acrylic on linen | 2017

Richard Roth | Krispy Kreme | ID: 202103024 | 12 x 8 x 4 inches |acrylic paint on birch plywood panel | 2020

Eric Zammitt | PINKAQUA PINK Left | ID: 202103162 | 16.75 x 4.75 x 2.75 inches | laminated acrylic plastic | 2014