Classical music is the inspiration for fire-proofed paintings at Ogden
"Betsy Eby: Painting with Fire"
It would be an understatement to say classical music informs the 22 works in the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s exhibit of Betsy Eby’s paintings.
Indeed, one could go so far as to say the artist’s works are visual interpretations or “tone poems” of specific musical compositions.
A classically trained pianist, Eby has been playing since the age of 5. More than four decades later, she continues to study seriously under master musicians.
In producing her paintings, Eby says, she plays and listens to a piece of music over and over until she finds its movement and sweep, cadences and arcs. She then translates these rhythms onto the canvas.
Looking at the collection, viewers are struck with a sense of suspended motion barely contained within the boundaries of the composition. In the absence of hard edges or straight lines, the soft organic shapes and curves, often reminiscent of a flock of birds or a cluster of blossoms, appear perched to fly or flicker off the canvas.
