ArtZone 461 Gallery is pleased to present “Down Time”, a survey exhibition that offers a glimpse into twenty years of figurative painter Jane Fisher’s works.  Fisher has created an impressive body of visually pleasing and psychologically intriguing pieces since receiving her Masters Degree from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1984.  This show exemplifies her versatility and includes an assortment of subjects portrayed in paintings and drawings in several mediums (pencil, watercolor, casein, oils) on a variety of surfaces (paper, canvas, linen, board).

The subjects in Fisher’s paintings reference her interest in how people behave when they want to make a specific impression.  Two main contexts the artist explores are presenting people in moments of isolation, and presenting them in performance.  The narrative works often read like comfort food, easy to digest, as if she’s painted a place or someone known.  At second glance, surface handling and emotions come into play, and the realization there is more than meets the eye.

Fisher comments:  “Ideas for my paintings emerge as emotions.  My task is to turn emotions into images.  I do this by playing on the viewer’s empathy, sympathy, curiosity and sense of humor… Ultimately, the figures in the paintings are metaphors for psychological states.  Their body language conveys feelings of discomfort and vulnerability, anticipation and trepidation, solitude and melancholy…”

Surfaces as well as subjects reveal more depth than first appearances.  Fisher has wonderful and complex paint handling, at once loose and precise, it achieves visual satisfaction without intruding on the image.  The medium and surface work to convey a sense that what is on display is frozen in significance.

This is Jane Fisher’s first solo show at ArtZone 461 Gallery; previously she exhibited at owner Steve Lopez’s former space, the Charles Campbell Gallery, and there participated in both group and solo shows.  We’re pleased to present this exhibition and welcome you.