On Maine: New Paintings by Don Voisine and David Row

Don Voisine Pinwheel Oil on Wood

Over the weekend, I stopped into the opening of On Maine at ICON Contemporary Art in Brunswick to see my friend Don Voisine and his new work. Don makes reductive paintings, created within a vocabulary of architectural geometry, light and austere color.


Don Voisine On Point II, On Point III, On Point IV oil on wood

The paintings are constructed on plywood substrate with painted bands and shapes of color shifting, subtly and precisely, throughout the surface. He uses black in dual viscosities to create a visual tension that pulsates between highly reflective and softer tones, and hue.

Don Voisine Connection oil on wood

This dichotomized ambiance deftly seduces the eye into and out of the picture plane. I find them pensive, very personal and beautiful.

David Row Blind Spots oil on canvas

David Row's aggressive paintings are new to me. In contrast to Voisine's meditative work, his luminous, gestural surfaces practically implode from the gallery walls. Beginning with canvas or aluminum, he builds his work with technical precision in layers of color and subtle mark, culminating in final undulating curvilinear strokes which dip below or rest on the surface.

David Row Avatar Oil on Steel

I don't think I've ever wanted to call a painting voluptuous, but, these are.

David Row Gossip oil on canvas


Both artists live and work in New York City, but hail from Maine. They have exhibited widely within the United States and Europe.

With these combined approaches to color, space and composition, ICON gallery owner and curator Duane Paluska has a great show.


ICON Contemporary Art 9 Mason Street Brunswick, ME 04011 207-725-8157
Through August 9