Artist: Maeve D’Arcy

Kathryn Markel Fine Arts presents an exhibition of paintings by Maeve D’Arcy titled, Off the Record and Other Stories. This is her fourth solo exhibition with the gallery and features paintings she created during her recent MacDowell fellowship. A site specific drawing and painting installation that the artist refers to as an “intervention” is also on display.

D’Arcy’s paintings chronicle observational musings through an intuitive practice of mark making and repetition. The work is intimately autobiographical and serves almost as a note to herself or a way to document a moment. She describes the process, “This new body of work represents an exploration of mark making as language. Shrines, to-do lists, snippets of conversations, and old photos act as an evolving manifesto of observation.” Hinting to her multitudes of influences, she titles each painting in playful and evocative ways.

D’Arcy literally accounts time as she methodically lays down each line, dot, and shape. This practice mirrors her fleeting inspirations and immortalizes them within a static medium. As she works, these small repeated actions evolve into bold, richly detailed abstractions. Large sections of marks grow into rhythmic patterns that vibrate with energy. Unique palettes and energetic brushwork accompany the graphic elements and lend further to the lively spirit of the work. Detailed motifs cover the entirety of some paintings while others contain expanses of flat color, allowing for both busy and quiet moments. Upon closer inspection the imperfect, human touch of every mark is revealed.

Maeve D'Arcy has exhibited her work in New York, London, and Ireland. She earned her MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, London, and a BA from CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies where she received the Thomas W. Smith Academic Fellowship, and the Diego Hidalgo Scholarship for the Arts. She has attended many residencies including MacDowell, Yaddo, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Jentel, and Saltonstall. D'Arcy will be donating a percentage of all sales to The Brigid Alliance that offers funding and support to individuals seeking abortion (brigidalliance.org).