Anatomy of Shape features figure paintings by Heide Davis and geometric patterns on canvas by Lisa Sofia Robinson. Each artist takes a very individual approach in exploring color and pattern to evoke mood. The show opens Saturday, April 8, during Astoria’s Artwalk, which runs from 12:00 to 8:00. Meet the artists from 5:00 to 8:00 and enjoy a lively evening of art, music, and conversation. The artwork will remain on view through May 9, 2023. 

Working in oils, Davis paints the female form, color-blocked and unclothed. Her contemplative figures are expressive and vulnerable and placed in idyllic landscapes, moody interiors, or abstract backgrounds that act as an extension of their personality. The figures portrayed range from dominant and assertive to quiet muses immersed in their surroundings. Davis’s signature approach is to break up the human form into blocks of color, leading the eye to discover shapes within that may not otherwise be apparent. Some of her newest works are delicately rendered dreamlike landscapes inspired by the artist’s childhood summers spent in the Texas countryside. In these surreal scenes, sylph-like figures gaze out from pastel-colored forests.

Robinson plays with endless colorful pattern designs in her mixed media works, a blend of painting and collage. Undulating lines and shapes form mesmerizing geometric patterns that are mathematically precise yet intentionally imperfect. Her hand-cut collage elements and inexact brushwork lend organic texture and pops of sizzling vibrancy to the rhythmic designs. Robinson’s background as a fine art photographer—a seeker of light and shadow—and a family heritage of quilt making have informed her current work. She sees pattern and repetition as opportunities for reflection and meditation, and hopes to engender a warm emotional response from the viewer.