Peter Barrickman is what many would call a painter’s painter, a label that means little on its face, but also suggests an abiding interest in the medium’s deeper possibilities. Even in its sloppiness the term implies a certain commitment to the potential of the medium beyond superficial results, and a reciprocity with other practitioners. His current exhibition “Untitled Melodies” at Green Gallery through March 1 is a gift to those painters and confirms that one artist’s faith in his internal pursuit might lead, with persistence, to another’s visual salvation.
The 12 paintings in the exhibition operate between representation and abstraction. This in itself isn’t notable as most painters working today migrate between these realms to some degree; however, Barrickman’s particular approach arrives at a seductive ambiguity that pushes each mode aside on its way to a space of its own. It’s a space beholden to neither and satisfying both. The works in the exhibition evolve from three basic natural conceits: winter landscapes, fulfillment centers, and fires.
