Works from the “Silk Spaces” series by Schenectady artist Arlene Baker are now on view in the Aesthetic Division exhibition at the Humanities Gallery, running through June 12.
Baker explores horizons, color and veils with the application of opaque layers of gouache on paper that are then mounted on foam core board. These paintings are literally veiled; the surfaces are layered with diaphanous material, or “painted” with silk using a uniform 8” x 20” format.
A former artist-in-residence at Union, Baker studied art at City College of New York. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Peter Busa, a founding member of the abstract expressionist movement. She earned master’s of art and master’s of fine art degrees from the University of Iowa.
Baker did post-graduate training in London. She has exhibited widely and regularly returns to London to work with the Barbican Arts Group, an artists’ collective. She began the first Silk Space painting in 1990 while working with the collective.
The Humanities Gallery is located on the second floor of the Humanities Building, opposite the entrance of Memorial Chapel. It is open weekdays 2 to 5 p.m.