Quiet Edge

April 9th to May 22nd, 2021, Redux Gallery, Charleston, SC

Quiet Edge brings together the works of two artists who address rectangular forms that ebb and flow between depiction and abstraction: Suzanne Dittenber with the form of the book and Benny Fountain with the window and room.

Dittenber’s quiet works probe the meaning of books beyond the contents inside, reflecting on use and wear, affection and attachment, and the impact of knowledge gained. Paintings and sculptures bring attention to the embodied qualities of books —their weight, mass, and shape— drawing forth a sense of touch and the hushed environment that their presence evokes.

Using a window and room motif, Fountain’s variation on a theme works take us through a diverse range of sensation and emotional experience.  In the works’ dual attention to flatness and illusion, two art-historical worlds seem to meet—the domestic interiors of Vermeer or Chardin and the formal, color-centric abstractions of Rothko and Albers.

With gratitude to Karson Photography for documenting this exhibition.