Nowhere in Particular: Poogy Bjerklie

January 12 – May 5, 2018

Nowhere in Particular features a series of paintings by New York City-based artist Poogy Bjerklie. The artist’s work is influenced by memories of growing up in Hallowell, Maine and summering on Richardson Lake. The works depict references to bodies of water, but not the typical coastal scenes that some may associate with Maine. Instead, Bjerklie’s images focus on the somber morning and grey evening light that is characteristic of the inland portion of the state. She uses oil paint on square wood panels, utilizing the rough surfaces of the wood to reinforce the atmospheric quality of the landscape scene. Bjerklie’s images seem to be viewed through a hazy lens. Details dissolve into diffused brushstrokes, conveying the notion of remembrance and longing, as if the images are a reflection of the past.

Bjerklie’s paintings recall romantic art with its emphasis on mood and shadow. Nineteenth and twentieth century American artists such as Albert Pinkham Ryder, Ralph Blakelock, and George Inness, are particularly influential to the artist’s work. Bjerklie also cites the museum-like displays of antique shops in her hometown of Hallowell as a prominent source of her stylistic approach to painting. The artist states that her images “act as memories of a place to escape to.” Her use of small, square picture planes creates intimate spaces resulting in a dialog between mark-making, memories, and place. Viewed from afar the images suggest dreamlike landscapes of remembered places, nostalgic, and just out of reach.

 

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1. Poogy Bjerklie (American, born 1954) Rustic Summer, 2017, Oil on wood panel, Courtesy of the artist
2. Poogy Bjerklie (American, born 1954) On the Marsh, 2016, Oil on wood panel, Courtesy of the artist