Art review: Hilary Brace at Craig Krull
For despite the realism of their chiaroscuro light effects, Brace’s images are stream-of-consciousness inventions, created without premeditation or sketches. The predominant cloud-like forms morph seamlessly into rocks, water, mist and ice floes, suggesting natural transformative processes as well as the endless plasticity of drawing, a space where things easily become other things. The resulting landscapes verge in some cases on abstraction; in others, they conjure the atmospherics of J.M.W. Turner or obliquely, the ecstatic light of William Blake.
Occasionally, they evoke kitschy fantasy illustrations so that one expects to see Pegasus or perhaps Golem emerging from clouds or caverns. But eventually they become a bit monotonous. While the permutations of Brace’s technique seem limitless, it may be something of a dead end. Again and again, her works attest to the complex mysteries of intuition and imagination, but with each iteration, the wonder they inspire grows a bit dimmer.
– Sharon MizotaCraig Krull Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave. B-3, Santa Monica, (310) 828-6410, through July 10. Closed Sundays and Mondays. www.craigkrullgallery.com
Images: Both are untitled. Courtesy of Craig Krull Gallery.