‘The Beach Series: Time Was, Time Is’ At Miller Gallery

WOODBURY — P.H. Miller Studio & Gallery, at 495 Main Street South, is presenting “The Beach Series: Time Was, Time Is,” featuring works by Fairfield artist Helene Brier. The exhibit will remain on view until June 28. An artist’s reception will be hosted by the gallery on Saturday, May 20, from 2 to 4 pm.

In conjunction with Woodbury Gallery Group’s “Good Health & Great Art Weekend” (May 20-21), P.H. Miller Studio & Gallery will donate ten percent of painting sales from “The Beach Series: Time Was, Time Is” exhibit to the Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center.

A graduate of New York University and a student of the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design, Helene Brier has been painting the same views for more than forty years. Ms Brier’s works are in the permanent collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art and she has exhibited at, among others, The Lyman Allyn Museum, The Silvermine Guild and the Bronx Museum.

Mentored by Jerry Farnsworth, she is stylistically compared to the likes of Matisse and Bonnard. Ms Brier also acknowledges that some of her inspiration comes from the work of Milton Avery for his pure sense of form.

Now in her eighties, she says, “This is a constant renewal of work I did in the 1960s.” Ms Brier is still extremely active in her home studio and “The Beach Series” paintings, which were done in the 1970s directly on the beaches of Fairfield County, pair perfectly with her newest works from “The Doors Series,” a progression from “The Windows” of the 1960s.

In a recent statement from Ms Brier about her work, she wrote, “The artist in me may express what I consciously intend, but the subconscious gives the work its strength and mystery.”

An oil painting titled “Sailboats & Orange Sky” illustrates Ms Brier’s affinity for form and color with bold blocks of tone depicting an orange sky, turquoise water, and a lavender-pink shoreline. Sailboats are similarly represented with strong stripes of oranges, purples, and reds. Between the boats are two figures simply stated with lively gestures of peach and purple.

Another example of the incredible effect of pairing complementary colors is “Chartreuse Sand with Pink Bathers.” As the title suggests, the entire background of this oil painting is variegations of the unexpected chartreuse sand. Bathers in shades of fuchsia and plum situate themselves under similarly toned umbrellas, on towels and beach chairs in shades of orange and aquamarine.

From the most recent series, “The Doors,” “Blue Doors” is a simple combination of cobalt blue rectangles divided by a stripe of pumpkin orange. Within the blue rectangles are suggestions of simple paneling, smaller rectangles of mint green contoured by painterly stripes of crimson red.

Natural shapes of bold color transcend the decades in this exhibit and accentuate Helene Brier’s ability to clearly capture well known vistas, while enlivening them with her personal energy and sense of mystery and curiosity.

For more information, contact P.H. Miller Studio & Gallery at 203-263-3939 or info@PHMiller.com. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm; and Sunday and Monday by chance or appointment.