Just in time to sweep the winter doldrums away, the Flinn Gallery opens More More More, a whirlwind of extravagant color, shapes, and materials, February 4 through March 16. 

The show’s opening reception will be held Thursday, February 4 from 6-8 pm. There will also be an Artist Talk on Sunday, February 28 at 2 pm. As part of the Library’s Art Double Feature Friday Film series, on March 4, Pixar’s colorful Inside Out will be shown at 8 pm following special extended evening hours at the gallery.

The show explores the resurgence of abstraction through the work of David Ambrose, Charles Clary, Katherine Daniels, Wayne Herpich, and Jason Middlebrook. 

Sometimes Mies van der Rohe’s dictum that “less is more” is wrong. This winter, More More More feels right as the Flinn Gallery celebrates excessive form, abundant color, and refined craftsmanship.

David Ambrose creates richly colored paintings on paper that reference architectural ornament and celestial bodies. His artwork involves two seemingly divergent elements: control and chance. 

Charles Clary explores the outer reaches of technicolored shapes in his intricately assembled hand-cut paper pieces. Irregular in shape, the stacked paper skins push outward, expanding layer upon layer. 

Katherine Daniels’ commissioned installation on the Library’s grand staircase leads visitors to the Flinn Gallery. Based on a craft tradition, Daniels states, “I make this hybrid between painting and sculpture where I build surfaces of color with weaving, sewing, and beading instead of paint.” 

Wayne Herpich’s vibrantly colored abstract paintings were described by Art in America as dense allover compositions from small, ragged-edged blocks of striated, contrasting hues executed as zigzags.

Jason Middlebrook has created a new series of wall-based sculptural pieces. He works with hewn and carved tree trunks, adding color judiciously to amplify the wood’s inherent qualities.