Without/Color at Figureworks

Last night I attended the opening of the incredibly lovely exhibition, Without/Color. At Figureworks in Williamsburg, this show currently features three artists (there will be a second iteration of the show with an additional three artists). The first room features evocative pencil drawings of female figures by Joanne Scott. The second room features haunting watercolors by Meridith McNeal. Both rooms are guarded over by intricate and powerful terra-cotta ravens by Alexander Ney.

There is a heavy softness to this show, which emphasizes delicacy and absence. The beauty of whites and greys... The sadness of a colorless world. Both work together to create something that is more than beautiful, richer than sad. This effect is particularly enhanced by McNeal's watercolors, bleak and clouded images of The Statue of Liberty. The viewer must strain towards the hope implied by this icon, as optimism has been washed away.