M. Pia De Girolamo

Apollo's Chariot by Mish-el Benjamin©, Oil, pencil and wax on paper.

Inner Sanctum by Mish-el Benjamin©, Acrylic on Canvas

Recently, I attended Mish-el Benjamin’s artist reception for her show The Daily Ritual at the Pagus Gallery Project Space in Norristown, PA. The title refers to her daily studio practice but in her paintings I see references to the ritual imagery of various faiths, past and present.  In one affecting work, Coming off the Cross, a human figure is being taken down a ladder, echoing the theme of Christ’s deposition from the cross in Christian art while possibly pointing to a more personal or universal meaning. Another, Apollo’s Chariot, contains an arc extending over two inverted triangles, calling to mind the path of the Greek sun god’s chariot.  In Inner Sanctum, there is a door suggested in the midst of a white form, the entrance perhaps to a private place of artistic or spiritual recollection. 

The imagery of art historical spiritual tradition and personal spiritual symbolism are melded in Mish-el’s paintings, which are executed with brushy strokes in areas of opaque and transparent layers in which the artist’s hand is clearly evident. For me, the show is a meditation on our longing for the unknowable. 

In the first floor gallery, two artists, Nakima Ollin and Emily Erb share the space in a show entitled Earthly Delights. Nakima uses egg tempera on panel to delicately render images of the complicated structure of industrial sites.  There is something in them that recalls the atmospheric quality of Dutch landscape painting but the finely realized complex tangle of tubes and beams approaches abstraction.  Emily works with dye on silk.  Her wall hangings entitled The Garden of Earthly Delights are rich with vivid imagery that deliberately recalls the painting by 15^th century master Hieronymus Bosch. One group of framed silk panels is based on historic maps of the world; another group appears to draw from photographic images.

If you go: The Daily Ritual is up until Dec. 31; Earthly Delights continues through Dec. 2.  Pagus Gallery http://www.pagusgallery.org/ is located at 619 W Washington St. Norristown PA (484) 992-2392.  Hours Thurs-Sat 12-5.