Perky Edgerton: Lost In The Woods

October 4 - November 9

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 19 @ 2 pm

Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to present Lost In The Woods, a solo exhibition of new works by Perky Edgerton. This marks Edgerton’s fourth exhibition with the gallery, featuring paintings that delve into the hidden qualities of natural places. The rural mountains of western Massachusetts where she resides are a powerful influence, with their textures, light, and sensations informing how she builds her landscapes. Edgerton says, “The light is so clear and strong that it looks like spotlights,”. She continues, “I want these woody interiors to feel inhabited…to present an intimate view, seeking a feeling of enclosure and secrecy.”

Known for her intricate and layered approach to painting, Edgerton’s dynamic use of materials embraces both fluidity and deep contemplation. Her work is also intertwined with her lifelong love of literature. “I admire how writers craft fiction, what is observed from life and what is left out, and how those chosen details mold the mood of the story,” she reflects. Her process is marked by an openness to change: “I make spontaneous decisions; scrape paint off and start over—change until the very end.” It is this engagement with the surface that allows her to ‘journey’ through each piece, uncovering the core narrative. Edgerton continues, “Each layer in the painting becomes part of its history, making the final work a multidimensional story itself.”

Read More

Perky Edgerton: Lost in the Woods

Oct 4 - Nov 9, 2024

Journeyed Surface: Conversation with Perky Edgerton

Perky Edgerton: Scraping, sanding, and painting things back in, and then scraping again lets me think slowly, change my mind, lose myself in a tactile, painted skin rich with variations of texture and speed. Engagement with the surface allows me to peel back layers of a story to reveal its core. Each layer in the painting becomes part of its history, making the final work a multidimensional story itself.

This journeyed surface makes me happy because it feels honest.

Elizabeth Johnson: ...You talk about Early Renaissance painting influences and staying at Bernard Berenson's Villa I Tatti with your dad, art historian Samuel Y. Edgerton, when you were seventeen. You said that you organize your paintings frontally, with foreground and background, not seeking to depict an expanding, long view perspective. Can you share some of the discussions about perspective or surface treatment that you remember having with your dad? Were you starting to paint at seventeen?

Continue Reading in Viewing Room