David Kidd and Stephen Pentak, two artists whose work has become well known

and collected in Atlanta, feature in the first new exhibition of 2020 at

Thomas Deans Fine Art in Buckhead. Both artists use nature to create poetic

images that are painterly and sophisticated.

North Georgia artist David Kidd has been inspired by the shadows of leaves cast

against walls or on the ground. In his multi-layered acrylic paintings Kidd

captures the emotional stillness of dawn and dusk with unusual delicacy and

refinement.

New York artist Stephen Pentak, former professor of painting at Ohio State

University, has evolved a unique modernist style combining the inspiration of

nature with a consciousness of abstract form. His paintings have almost a Zenlike

calm and stillness and an overall elegance of form.

Pentak seeks to balance representation (the “what”) and invention (the “how”).

His paintings reflect a rigor that has been described as “a poetic sensibility

coupled with an authoritative restraint.” In some of his latest paintings, Pentak

uses the colors of nature to create pure abstractions on small adjacent panels

that juxtapose one solid color against another to stunning effect.

For David Kidd, the physical act of applying paint has a strong influence on the

direction that a painting will ultimately take. Despite a general concept of what he

hopes to convey, his goal is “not to allow that preconceived idea to limit or

restrain the creative process.” The repetitive and random application and removal

of paint creates elements and patterns that serve as a visual road map. This

layering, editing and re-editing functions almost as a meditative dialogue between the hand of the artist and the canvas.

The exhibition opens with a reception on 14 February 2020 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm