Schaffer & Fain: Angst, Mystery & Myths: Oil Paintings & Works on Paper

Brooke-Walder Gallery is delighted to present SCHAFFER & FAIN: Angst, Mystery & Myths, an exhibition of oil paintings and works on paper that entangle the viewer in potent narratives, symbolic imagery, and the enduring resonance of myth.

Schaffer’s practice, ever relentless strive towards the economy of line, seeks to describe but to distil; his measured approach to mark-making serves to heighten the emotional voltage of each image. In his hands, restraint plays out by constant scraping back of the surface and therefore the visible world until only its psychological essence remains.

Fain’s work, by contrast, shows a sensitivity to a silky surface, which complements his calligraphic brushstrokes outlining his compositions, perhaps reflecting the influence of his time in the East, and leaving the viewer with a quiet, pleasing sense of harmony, even when addressing sometimes complicated and intense subjects.

Together, this show of Schaffer and Fain’s work demonstrates how restraint can intensify expression, allowing emotion to emerge with greater precision from the canvas.