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Venus Rising by Debra Drexler

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Art and Art History Professor Debra Drexler will be featured in a solo exhibit at Van Der Plas Gallery in New York, opening Wednesday, October 23. The exhibit, entitled River’s Edge will showcase luminous abstract paintings that bring the transcendent experience of the Hawaiian landscape to a New York audience.

Drexler’s juxtaposition of high chroma blues, violets, yellows and pinks create a spatial opening, leading the viewer to an expansive experience. Through her New York based studio and curatorial practices, she is also deeply engaged in critical conversation surrounding new abstraction.

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Blue U by Debra Drexler

“Abstraction takes us to a state of timelessness that is primal in its humanity, disconnecting us momentarily from the mediated ‘now’ of our electronic devices, and connecting us to a ‘now’ that gives us a glimpse of the infinite,” said Drexler. “While our insistent digital projections can take us away from both our animal and spiritual nature, abstract painting reminds us again of what it means to be human. The corporality of the paint mirrors the flesh of the body and transports us into the timeless.”

More on Drexler

Drexler maintains studios in both New York and Oʻahu, and her work is informed by her unique bi-coastal experience. She has had 28 solo exhibits and more than 100 group exhibitions at galleries and museums in New York, Hawaiʻi, Australia, Berlin and across the states.

She has recently exhibited in group shows at Van Der Plas Gallery, including the three-person Red, Yellow, Orange (2014) and Rites of Spring (2015). Her museum solo exhibits include Honolulu Museum and Maui Arts and Cultural Center. Recent New York solo exhibits include White Box’s Annex, Blue Mountain Gallery, HP Garcia Gallery and Java Studios Gallery.

In addition, Drexler has exhibited in group shows in New York including The Drawing Center, Denise Bibro Gallery, Exit Art, Art Finance Partners and Stephan Stoyanov Gallery and Sideshow Gallery.

For more on the River’s Edge exhibit, visit the Van Der Plas Gallery website.

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