J.W. Mahoney

Her work carries a plain-spoken majesty. Its forms are plainly symbolic, and, as plainly, free of doctrine. Her stars, crosses, and circles are affirmations of an austere purity at the center of things. Her work is intended to capture the power of the tremendous life energy resident in every thing. This is a very traditional American Transcendentalism, an entirely intuitive, natural philosophy that suggests only that we live in a universe filled with meanings. Her paintings are made in this good faith. There are no narratives, no strategies, no tricks. A 36-pointed star, in light gold, shines through an ochre circle with an irregular orange aura, suspended in an intensely crimson field. It symbolizes nothing specific, and many things at once. And it almost seems to sing, softly to itself, with the simplicity of the eternity it unfailingly expresses.