From HyperActive Haikus and News (Volume 1, Number 3)
On a recent frosty February night I was lucky enough to find a parking space in Georgetown’s bustling K Street area, right near the Washington Harbor. That unlikely but true fortune enabled me to see Segnan’s works despite the icy terrain.
I was determined to experience canvasses created by Pat Segnan, an artist for over 20 years.
As it happened, Segnan had an opening at Georgetown’s Anne C. Fisher Gallery that evening.
Though Segnan is an experienced artist, the style of painting she brings to the Fisher Gallery is apparently a relatively new one for her.
Appealing to onlookers’ sense of adventure Segnan paints simple, but cool mid-tone shapes on backgrounds that are light and cooler still.
Though I recognized the runic symbols in some of Segnan’s works I didn’t attempt to interpret them.
Inasmuch as I couldn’t determine why one abstract was dubbed “In-Tilt” and another earned the title “Distilled” I still found much to enjoy in Segnan’s work. What I liked the most about Segnan’s work was the wholesomeness in the art’s sheer simplicity.
One painting called “Abundance” is dominated by a green arrow that points towards the ceiling. After viewers catch sight of the green arrow, their eyes are then drawn to a blue, spoon-like figure, perpendicular to the arrow, that’s serving up a twisted purple musical note.
Several odd green lines that cross the green arrow serve as a container of sorts for a group of red figures. These figures may be make-believe letters, but they sure look like they come out of a tome that elfin king in a Lord of the Rings novel would chant.
The light yellows, violets, and other shades in the background of “Abundance” add cheer to the abstract work.
According to a weighty book that compiles Segnan’s art: “The lines and symbols are reductive fragments which refer to the modern elements of life.”
I can accept that.
Nevertheless, I feel more satisfied keeping my description simple: It brings for the simplicity and idealism of childhood.
Segnan’s exhibit will be at the Fisher Gallery through 9 March. The Fisher Gallery is located at 1054 31st Street, N.W., Mezzanine, Washington, DC 20007.
Though the Fisher Gallery is nestled among a cluster of other galleries in the area, most are hidden from nearby M Street. So that if you weren’t looking for an artful evening you might pass without ever knowing what you missed.
Fisher Gallery: www.annecfishergallery.com