Two Painters: A Visual Dialogue
Lois Dodd and Colleen Cox

On view April 21 through May 25, 2018

gallery neptune & brown is proud to present two American artists, Lois Dodd and Colleen Cox, in an exhibition showcasing oil and watercolor paintings representative of their long careers. Two Painters: A Visual Dialogue is the first exhibition which places Dodd and Cox in conversation—as teacher and student at Brooklyn College during the 1990s. Both practitioners of 'deep observation' of their surroundings, these artists employ similar artistic techniques as they explore the formal and abstract elements of color, shape, and light of still life objects and landscapes.

A founding member of the iconic Tanager Gallery, (part of the 10th Street Galleries in New York) Dodd was a transformative figure in the tradition of American painting. A committed student of her surroundings, she focuses mostly on still life painting, nudes, and landscapes. Frequently painting familiar scenes in New Jersey, Maine, and New York City, her work embodies the nature of intimate everyday moments. These daily scenes are rendered with a deep understanding of elegant light and form that is indicative of the simple yet striking beauty of nature. Today, Dodd's work is found in the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Academy of Design in New York.  A life-long teacher of painting, Dodd spent much of her career as a professor at Brooklyn College from 1971 to 1992, where she guided a new generation of American artists with an unpretentious and candid spirit.

One of these artists was Colleen Cox, who received her MFA from Brooklyn College in 1992. Influenced by Manet's still life paintings and Morandi's graceful oil paintings of the 1940s, she studied under renowned American artist Lennart Anderson, from whom she was encouraged to continue her interest in painting from direct observation. Cox also cites Dodd as an important influence on her work, commenting, “Lois’ art gave me a deep appreciation for the vast range of expression that is possible even within the most restrained basic principles of design.” Concentrating primarily on landscape and still life painting, Cox uses soft, quiet northern light to create a radiance and tranquility through intuitive rendering of form and color. The varied works of Cox and Dodd in Two Painters: A Visual Dialogue emphasize a beautiful tradition of masterful artistic practice and the elegance of the familiar.