Hollywood

Bright narrative paintings by Patricia Patterson return again to her familiar subject--Ireland’s Aran Islands. They visit with warm, uncomplicated locals and their verdant land. Strictly paintings this time, no installations, bric-a-brac or lyric banners, they nevertheless proclaim the artist’s affection for the emerald isle in vivid color and quick line.

Patterson’s color is dynamic. Using chalky, quick drying casein paint, she underpaints each canvas with a vivid ground. The image is then sketched and rapidly filled in with contrasting bright colors that almost dance off the canvas in visual and gestural excitement. As a sort of containment, and a bold introduction to the startling color, each painting is framed in an equally vivid, wide, wooden two-color frame. The framing device is simple and clear. It deftly steps the viewer into the pictorial space, bridging the gap between the white blankness of the gallery and the electric energy of the artist’s version of the rural island.

Patterson may be painting her ideal retreat, unspoiled by too much civilization, but the color is savvy and her methodic quick line is highly sophisticated. These contrasts between the earthy subjects and the contemporary hype of the painting makes for an inexplicably appealing culture clash. (Newspace Gallery, 5241 Melrose Ave., to May 6.)