In Reinventing Rules, Susan Lisbin presents recent paintings using oil and cold wax on canvas, as well as biomorphic ceramic sculptures. Profoundly hard of hearing since age two, Lisbin spent a lot of time silently observing others. That experience informed the organic forms in her work and symbolize people in space, investigating how personal space is about connecting and relating to each other. Lisbin states, “The relationships that fill us with infinite joy, that make us feel whole or make us feel incomplete - are all part of life. Each piece is a unique platform from which juxtapositions and identities can be discovered.” By building diverse forms with clay or paint and exploring our eccentric uniqueness, Lisbin offers the viewer an opportunity to see themselves in relation to others. Joan Mellon presents small sculptural wall works in the exhibition Reinventing Rules. The physical act of making and the exploration of material are central to Mellon’s work. Her work can be recognized by its focus on the use of strong color, simple composition, and the use of various materials—some purchased, and others found. Her interest in how choice and chance are at the core of the creative process is always at play. Mellon explains the origins and process of the work, “A couple of years ago an artist I know saw a group of the small 3-dimensional wood pieces I created from wood gleaned from the scrap bins of my neighborhood lumber yard. Commenting on these enthusiastically my friend said: ‘These pieces, individually and, as a whole, are remarkable in both their complexity and spareness.’ In response I said, ‘The complexity arose from whatever sparked the piece in the first place and the spareness seemed to insist.’ Explaining further, I said, ‘Simplicity is something I get to, not something I begin with.’”
Gail Winbury’s abstract oil paintings delve into the emotional, physical, and psychological states that shape human experience in Reinventing Rules. Drawing from her background as a psychologist, Winbury gives form to feelings that often elude language, creating works that embody the deep, preverbal roots of the self. Her paintings navigate themes such as gender, mortality, childhood memory, and, most recently, the evolving relationship between age and creativity. Balancing a love of oil paint’s materiality with contempor
