Tria Gallery presents Pastel Redux featuring work by Hisako Kobayashi, Kimberly Salib and Cassie Taggart.

The use of pastel colors in painting can yield many different results, but one might think the most likely would be a work that comes across as soft, mellow, perhaps even feminine. The three painters whose work is on display in Pastel Redux use their pastel paints to great, and quite different, effect. Hisako Kobayashi paints beautiful abstract work using a very sensual pastel palette which emanates a serene and spiritual energy. She often returns to the same canvas, adding depth and dimension, before considering it a completed piece. Kimberly Salib’s paintings are more disciplined and process-oriented. Geometric, textured, and contemporary in feel, she explores the tonal range in each work. By contrast, Cassie Taggart’s paintings are figurative – provocative, intriguing interiors whose subject matter is almost belied by the use of seemingly innocent pastels. The spaces offer brief vignettes, leading the viewer to create an accompanying narrative.