Continuing through July 27, 2013

In a series of paintings incorporating use of the Fibonacci series in representational images titled “Spiral,” Gail Roberts portrays nature’s process of decomposition. Birds' nests, feathers, twigs and leaves supply the artist's commentary on our relationship between nature and culture. The central theme of the nests is a metaphor for the life cycle of birth to death. Roberts sometimes juxtaposes imagery with text about birds in flight, hunting and being hunted. There are no images of birds in these paintings, only evidence that the birds were at one time present in these environments. 

Some of the works are painted on canvas while others are painted on 12 inch squares of marble, slate and terrazzo – materials culled from the earth and commercially produced. Many of Roberts’ compositions are painted delicately, bringing to our awareness not merely the fragility of the subject matter, but the broader temporality of life. It is the empty nests we recall long after viewing this show. They leave us unresolved  - feeling that there is more to the story – a narrative that Roberts has chosen to leave unexplained.

Published courtesy of ArtSceneCal ©2013