Natalie Alper at Seraphin

Natalie Alper's recent paintings on canvas and paper burst the boundaries of abstraction. Densely painted and drawn in acrylic, metallic pigment and pencil, her works reference the turmoil of natural forces in the act of creating the universe. Swaths of color in turbulent waves crowd each piece. Alper (born in 1937) has cited Leonardo da Vinci's Deluge drawings as one of the progenitors of this series.

Seven canvases, ranging in size from 36 inches square to 78 by 86 inches, threaten to envelop the viewer in a whirlpool of energy. The large Shifting Currents, Changing Tides (2003) employs complex shades of blue and green to indicate surges of water. An initial coating of iridescent metallic pigment applied to the gessoed canvas creates a sense of light emanating from the background. The next layer consists of calligraphic lines in pencil, followed by broad brushstrokes loaded with fluid acrylic color. All this is contained behind an irregular grid scratched on the wet painted surface. These scraped lines appear in every one of the works.

The dense red substance in the midst of the blues and greens in An Emergence of Matter (2005), 78 by 84 inches, seems to depict the formation of a foreign element. A wave of earthy color overwhelms Blooming Red (2007). Six smaller works on paper, including a diptych and a triptych, are similar to the canvases in their layering. Alper's paintings, filled with primordial forces made visible, are romantic evocations in the tradition of Delacroix.--Anne R. Fabbri

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