The Silver Circle Gallery in Putnam, CT is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibit “Ngorongoro Revisited: Drawings & Paintings by Kathi Packer.” The opening reception, Friday

September 2nd, 2011 from 6-8pm, is a free event that will allow the public to view the artwork and meet the artist.

At first glance, Packer’s work portrays a common drama played out daily on the plains of Africa. Slowly, this perceived drama reveals a universal message of survival and vulnerability. Her new work explores the image of zebras in the wild but goes beyond mere visual description. Each image is a fragment of movement and time. These ephemeral postures could at once depict a falling, resting, dying or a joyously playful animal. The viewer doesn’t really know the beginning, middle or end of this choreography, nor the context. Similarly, the character of the landscape depicted creates a fluid atmosphere where dust and mist provide a delicate but ambiguous veil to the drama or joy of the moment.

Bakora #42, 22”x30”, mixed media on paper, 2011

Packer’s work retains a strong sense of intimacy. Her small paintings read much larger than the dimensions suggest. The painterly passages of color and texture focus attention on the translucency and opacity of the painting. Similarly, the larger drawings invite the viewer into a self-contained world of movement and reveal her sense of drama through a bold, expressive quality of line. While never intended as studies for other work, the drawings nonetheless inform her paintings and vice versa.

Kathi Packer’s work is represented in several institutional collections including The New Britain Museum of American Art, Galeria Nacional de Costa Rica, The University of Connecticut School of Medicine, The Phoenix Corporation and Hartford Hospital. She is also represented in private collections throughout the United States.

* * *

Silver Circle Gallery is located at 75 Main Street in Downtown Putnam. Since 2008, Silver Circle has been a fresh, contemporary space where local and regional visual artists collaborate to show and sell their work, educate others, and inspire one another and their community. Visit www.SilverCircleGallery.com for more information.