LIVINGSTON MANOR — Painter Dike Blair turns his gaze toward the Catskills in Eyes, Skies and Pools, a summer exhibition opening June 27 at Catskill Art Space.
The show, on view through Aug. 29, features gouache paintings, sculptures and works on paper that explore perception, landscape and the quiet act of looking. An artist talk is scheduled from 3 to 4 p.m. on opening day, followed by a reception from 4 to 5 p.m.
Drawing largely from photographs made near his Sullivan County home, Blair paints winter skies, reflective pools and fleeting atmospheric conditions. Airplane trails, chimney smoke and other subtle traces of human activity appear throughout the works, grounding expansive scenes in everyday experience.
The pool paintings, rendered in lush greens, balance abstraction and realism. Light ripples across the water’s surface while mechanical details, such as pool cleaners, interrupt the stillness and redirect the viewer’s attention.
Sculptural installations constructed from crates extend Blair’s interest in perception into three dimensions, encouraging visitors to move through the galleries and encounter shifting viewpoints. A large-scale presentation from his ongoing Eyes series, depicting disembodied gazes drawn from friends and family, introduces a rare focus on the human figure and creates a direct exchange between artwork and viewer.
The exhibition complements Avaar, artist James Turrell’s permanent installation at Catskill Art Space, with both works inviting slow observation and heightened awareness of how we see.
Blair, who emerged from New York’s downtown art scene in the 1970s, is known for transforming ordinary moments and overlooked subjects into carefully observed studies of light, form and memory. His work has long resisted spectacle in favor of attentiveness, finding significance in what might otherwise pass unnoticed.
An accompanying catalog, featuring a new essay by critic Cameron Martin, will be available during the exhibition. Major support for the project is provided by Karma, with additional support from the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association.
For more information visit catskillartspace.org
