Rio Hondo College Art Gallery is pleased to present “Through the Empyrean” an exhibition of new work by Ada Pullini Brown curated by Robert Miller. This exhibition brings together works created during the past two years of COVID lockdowns.
“During the pandemic, Brown created a series of sky paintings entitled The Empyrean
series to illuminate her feelings of loss of freedom and enforced isolation. In Greek cosmology,
this refers to the highest and most fiery part of Heaven. Although in the early days of the
pandemic, it was very quiet and serene, but we were nonetheless all consumed with fear.
Looking up towards the sky, forever enormous, a wide-open vista provided a respite. Yet inside
this open cloud filled space Brown began to place hard-edged geometric squares, circles, and
rectangles that by their very shape emphasized our borders — actual, psychological, or imagined.
The hint of menace was everywhere, even in the red tinged skies which could be sunrises or
sunsets — or they could be reflecting the searing wildfires the world experienced over the last
two years. These paintings flicker between the hope of new beginnings and the fear of stale
solutions.” — Nancy Kay Turner
/www.riohondo.edu/arts/through-the-empyrean/
