Independent Arts News Reporting 
Pictured Above: Watershed Swamp, Spring. acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24. Photo Credit: Contributed
Within View: Paintings and Drawings, a solo exhibition of works by Léni Paquet-Morante, Closing Reception April 16
NEWSROOM POST: Princeton, NJ
(PRINCETON, NJ) – The latest installment at David Scott Gallery (for Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach) is Within View: Paintings and Drawings, a solo exhibition of works by Léni Paquet-Morante, an accomplished painter and sculptor with the Johnson Atelier Studio Program, in Hamilton. The closing reception for the show will be on Sunday, April 16th, 2-4 pm.
In my previous exhibition, Intersection, I attempted to relate the connections between the visual language of four unique abstract artists. With Léni’s show, I invite the viewer to seek out the intersecting elements within a single artist’s vocabulary. Within View, is an exhibition of 37 works by Paquet-Morante, all interpretations of the landscape and nature through plein air paintings, abstract drawings and bold monoprints. Walking the gallery, one can explore the conversation between these different media, all deftly tethered together by her use of color, line and composition, as she seamlessly navigates the tenuous borders between representation and abstraction.
Pictured Above: WinterSky on Shallow. acrylic and ink on canvas, 42 x 32 Photo Credit: Contributed
Within View: Paintings and Drawings, a solo exhibition of 37 works by Léni Paquet-Morante, including plein air landscapes, abstract drawings, and monoprints. On view now at David Scott Gallery for Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach, located at 253 Nassau Street in Princeton
The title, Within View, is a reference to a duality that many artists embrace – subject matter that is represented more literally, as well as the more personal interpretation, expressed from “within”. This harmonious duality is part of Léni’s DNA, so I saw it as essential that the show examine multiple aspects of her voice. One will easily recognize the interaction between the symbiotic elements in her work, without it ever feeling contrived or clever.
Paquet-Morante says, “I look to the natural landscape to maintain connection to its color and structure, and to discover some of its nuanced complexity. The paintings in this show include work done in New Jersey as well as several other northeastern states, created in all seasons, at warm brooks and vernal pools, at blustery coastlines, and frozen marshlands. The interpretive work that I do in the studio has been built on an extensive library of notes, and it is through the plein air work that these notes are initiated.”
Pictured Above: Artist self-portrait, Léni Paquet-Morante, an accomplished painter and sculptor with the Johnson Atelier Studio Program, in Hamilton Photo Credit: Contributed
“Following a shoulder injury making sculpture in 2021, I began what became an extensive series of small ink drawings made at the edges of brooks and puddles, at small piles of leaves, seeds and mud, and the surrounding detritus. The larger ink works in 2022 are based solely on recall and with intention to compose an image that speaks as much to the act of drawing, as to an arrangement of landscape components with shallow water as the recurring theme. Through this work, I explore a contemporary interpretation of landscape, which explores the visual complexity within flooded potholes as freely as that within natural, undisturbed environments.”
David Scott Gallery is located at 253 Nassau Street in Princeton, across from Blue Point Grill. Hours are Monday through Friday from 9-5, weekends, from 10-4. Visitors are strongly encouraged to attend the show during weekends, the opening or closing receptions, or schedule a guided visit with David Scott or the artist. Email for more info at davidscottfineart@gmail.com or lenimorante@yahoo.com. Instagram – davidscottgallery.bhhsfoxroach – lenimakespaintings
David Scott is an independent curator that works with multiple art venues in Central NJ.
Pictured Above: Dyson Tract Scrub, Ice. acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24. Photo Credit: Contributed.
