Nancy Purington’s paintings capture both the simplicity of the Mississippi River and some of its complexity. She looks for the rhythms and the patterns that are created as the water moves between banks and other constructed items and moves over the ridges of its bed. Her latest work is based on the flows of the river at Davenport, Iowa, and the music of fellow Davenport native, Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke.
Not being familiar with Beiderbecke’s music, I asked friends to describe it. The response was 1920′s dance music, which I confirmed after picking up a CD at the public library. I’m listening to “Mississippi Mud as I write this” It is a baritone song with short bars that makes me think of taking high steps to pull legs out of the mud and then slipping down into the muck as the foot goes down.
Purington’s “In the Dark” paintings come across as geometrical designs without the knowledge that they are based on music. Think about Beiderbecke, though, and those shapes become choreography. There are ridges to slide along and valleys to dip into. Some patterns zig then zag; other patterns swirl around an eddy. There are also paintings that capture the changing moods of a song and depths of a river through colors that change as the viewer moves his or her eyes over a painting.
Another series on exhibit uses distinct lines and angles to capture the impression of the Mississippi at very narrow points. There is the small image of water lapping gently at the shore. Another image, “Waiting at the End of the Road,” gives the impression of driving a pick-up truck down a back road that stops at the river’s edge. Cool clouds hang in the sky and the river awaits whatever activity is planned for the day.
Larger pieces capture many more elements of the river. “Interlude in Blue” is the painting that faces the sidewalk outside the gallery. It was painted with a line down the middle to create two images of the same stretch of river a nanosecond apart. Swirls become fish and fish become swirls as light and shadow also play a role in presenting the Mississippi. A picture of a guitar suggests an island, the moon, a wave, shallow and deeper levels of water, banks, and a flood.
Purington works with gauche on paper. The pieces are intense not only in color but also due to the multiplicity of meanings worked into each moderately-sized painting.
“The Blues” is on exhibit at the Hentschel Art Gallery (835 42nd Street in the Shops at Roosevelt) through May 27, 2008. The next exhibit opens May 30th with a reception from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. That exhibit is “New Places” by Larry Roots.
M.R. Field writes reviews for AroundDesMonies.com. 
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