FOR 4-6

TOM MCKINLEY, ALBERT SWINDON ON VIEW AT BETH URDANG GALLERY

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BOSTON, MASS. — “Tom McKinley: Recent Paintings,” and “Albert Swindon: Gouaches of the 1940s” are on view through May 12 at Beth Urdang Gallery.

This is the third solo exhibition of paintings by McKinley, whose inaugural show at the gallery was highlighted by Boston Globe art critic Cate McQuaid in her “Best of 2001” review of Boston galleries.

McKinley’s paintings of elegant interiors and exteriors are precisely rendered with flat planes of brilliant color; the mood is whimsical, a bit surreal, and pure California. His untouched scenes create a disquieting atmosphere. Other more humorous works showcase McKinley’s love of witty juxtapositions, informed by Magic Realists of the 1920s and ‘30s, and updated to a contemporary sensibility.

McKinley’s newest exhibition will feature topiary gardens and swimming pools at dusk or in the evenings.

Swindon was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists group in New York in 1936 — band of artists who championed pure abstraction over the prevailing preference of the day for realism.

His brilliantly colored gouaches on paper from the early 1940s were an investigation of intersecting planes and rather Cubist still lifes, whose sparkle and intensity were unrivaled.

The gallery is at 129 Newbury Street. For more information, 617-424-5550 or www.bethurdanggallery.com.