Immerse Yourself in the Work of Watercolorist Ali Cavanaugh

ali cavanaugh Immerse

I have long been an admirer and collector of the work of Ali Cavanaugh. I own some of her earlier pieces so I was anxious to see her latest which, from peeking at the progress on Facebook, I could see would be a departure for the artist.

Ali Cavanaugh Immerse Watercolors

Immerse, a new collection of watercolors featuring the artist’s own daughter has just opened at the Gold Gallery in Boston, MA. I’d been watching the progress of this latest work as she shared it on Facebook and was initially thrown by the palette and looseness of it compared to her previous work. Painted in hues of blue and green, these have a dream-like quality as compared to her previous collections of work, such as “Sock Arms“, which is far less ethereal.

The Artist and her muse
The artist and her muse

The grouping of pieces, painted upon clayboard, represents a departure from her previous projects in several capacities.

Gold Gallery writes “Immerse is an abandonment of the artist’s hyper-representational aesthetic and, rather, embraces the fluidity and ungoverned nature of watercolor. In past paintings, her subject were most often teenage women, emulating introverted emotions. Now, her young daughter acts as a muse, embodying opening, honesty and forgiveness–all traits that can likewise be used to characterize the temperament of the collection. Additionally, these significant changes inspired an unfamiliar scope–previous work was exclusively small, intimate and contemplative. Immerse includes large-scale work that is direct or even confronting and meant to envelop the viewer completely.

The creation of this collection, aptly named, both required that the artist immerse herself in unexplored process and subject, and in turn holds the audience captive with its imagery.”

the muse with the work in studio
above: Ali’s daughter, the muse for her collection, studies her likenesses in Ali’s studio

Here’s a look at Cavanaugh’s lovely paintings shown in the exhibit.

Hold Spellbound, Watercolor on Clayboard, 40″ x 40″
Hold Spellbound, Watercolor on Clayboard, 40″ x 40″
Listening in Silence, Watercolor on Clayboard, 40″ x 40″
Listening in Silence, watercolor on clayboard, 40″ x 40″
listening in silence detail
Listening in Silence, detail
Suspended in the Passage, Watercolor on Clayboard, 60″ x 40″
Suspended in the Passage, watercolor on clayboard, 60″ x 40″
Suspended in the passage, detail
Suspended in the Passage, detail
Intersession, watercolor on clay panel, 60" x 40"
Intersession, watercolor on clay panel, 60″ x 40″
Under A Day Dream, watercolor on clayboard, 20″ x 16″
Under A Day Dream, watercolor on clayboard, 20″ x 16″
In the Dream She Was Floating, But Not Completely Submerged, watercolor on clayboard, 18″ x 18″
In the Dream She Was Floating, But Not Completely Submerged, watercolor on clayboard, 18″ x 18″
What? Why?, watercolor on clay panel, 12" x 12"
What? Why?, watercolor on clay panel, 12″ x 12″
You Speak My Words, watercolor on clayboard, 20″ x 16″
You Speak My Words, watercolor on clayboard, 20″ x 16″
Prayer, watercolor on clayboard, 18″ x 24″
Prayer, watercolor on clayboard, 18″ x 24″
Consume, watercolor on clay panel, 12" x 12"
Consume, watercolor on clay panel, 12″ x 12″
Surrounded by Your Voice, watercolor on clayboard, 24″ x 18″
Surrounded by Your Voice, watercolor on clayboard, 24″ x 18″
Waiting for the return, watercolor on clayboard, 18" x 18"
Waiting for The Return, watercolor on clayboard, 18″ x 18″
Waiting for The Return, detail
Waiting for The Return, detail
The Entrance, watercolor on clayboard, 40″ x 60″
The Entrance, watercolor on clayboard, 40″ x 60″
The Entrance, detail
The Entrance, detail
The Entrance, detail2
The Entrance, detail

The following five paintings are a group of head studies that measure 8″ x 8″:

absolve 8 x8
Absolve
unquiet 8 x8
Unquiet
regret 8x8
Regret
essence 8 x8
Essence
you never escape 8x8
You Never Escape

Here are two more paintings from the collection, but they are not on the Gold Gallery website, so they may not be in the show.

Gaze, watercolor on clayboard, 12" x 12"
Gaze, watercolor on clayboard, 12″ x 12″
Open, watercolor on clayboard, 12" x 12"
Open, watercolor on clayboard, 12″ x 12″

Ali Cavanaugh

immerse: new watercolors by ali cavanaugh at gold gallery

For information, availability and prices, contact the Gold Gallery here

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Immerse at the Gold Gallery
September 8th through October 18th
655 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02118