Introduction

Elizabeth Palay's paintings are in the Color Field abstractionist tradition. Color is the inspiration for her work and oil paint the primary medium. The exhibition includes some strictly geometric color forms of her earliest work and displays her transition to lyrical abstract expressionism. Repetitive gestures apply layer upon layer of color over large canvases, which, at distance, appear monochromatic. Yet the paintings are alive, exuding subtle vibrations of light forms. The interplay of colors creates an imagery of landscape horizons. These themes carry through to her most recent work. Executed on a smaller scale, horizontal color widths with sharply defined edges display intricate palettes that challenge and delight the eye. The paintings invite personal interpretation -- sensations, thoughts, moods or memories of time or places past. Elizabeth Palay's process can be slow and deliberate or at times playfully gestural, infusing the canvas with dabs, strokes or threads of color.