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The Hemphill-presented exhibit now on view at Carroll Square Gallery, “Currents,” features four artists labeled “emerging talents in the mid-Atlantic region,” each of which “plays with the boundaries of abstraction and representation.” But on balance, there’s more abstraction than representation.
Alex Ebstein offers mixed-media works featuring wood, paper, yarn, twine and dirt; some (loosely) suggest masks, others (somewhat less loosely) suggest jewelry, but the most intriguing work unexpectedly suggests a yellow legal pad (middle left). Erika Diehl produces oil paintings of abstracted objects like bags, tents and tossed hair, but her most impressive piece is a nocturne (bottom) that features angular brushstrokes that blend tones of brown and black with a startling degree of visual depth.
Katherine Sable makes oil paintings of color patterns, the best of whichinvoke unfolded maps (in the eccentric colors of pink, dark blue and lily pad green, middle right) and a curtain in the breeze (with a surprising sense of movement despite its thick lines). To experience the most impressive work, however, you have to look upward: Rene Trevino has hung fluttering rows of polyvinyl pennants (top) printed with ancient Central American symbols and bird images, instantly elevating and reinventing one of the humblest of decorations.
Through April 26 at Carroll Square Gallery, 975 F St NW. On view 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.
