03 Dec 2019

Susanna Coffey: In Her Studio

Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects

Reviewed by Dana Gordon

Susanna Coffey is a highly regarded painter who has shown in New York City for many years. She first became known for small paintings of herself, facing straight out at the viewer. Though the size and ostensible subject implied intimacy, they aren't really self-portraits. Her face provides a pragmatic object to paint. And though the meticulous and sensual technique brings the viewer close, there is something that makes this viewer not want to get "in her face."

Works in the show at Steven Harvey are scenes of artists in their studios. The paintings are even smaller than the "self-portraits" and the technique again draws the viewer - to observe the wonderful compositions of colors, the lights and darks, and the sensitive, inventive, tiny brushstrokes. But again there is little intimacy with the artist or subject matter. Nevertheless the paintings feel deep. They prove that it is not the personal narrative that carries off a painting, but the artist's ability to create meaning through technical mastery of abstract visual qualities.