Structural integrity drives this three-person exhibition by Robin Adler, Karen Allen, and Eileen Sackman. Just as a skeleton supports an organism, the bones of a composition and materials dictate artistic form. Together, these artists explore the limits of the structures beneath: how much pressure and strain a foundation can endure before deteriorating, and the tension required to bring a creative vision to life. Through translucency and light, abstract figuration and shadows, and emotional tone, Adler, Allen, and Sackman seek to unearth the beauty of structure within each of their works. Sackman examines translucent porcelain and the way light infiltrates and changes her carved skeletal structures. Drawing inspiration from the ossuary, she reflects on how these communal spaces gathered the exhumed bones of strangers into a single entity, transforming remains into beautifully intricate patterns lining sanctuary walls and underground passages. In her work, Allen integrates painting's traditional materials with gestural drawing, fabric, and other found materials. Her use of color and value creates contrasting passages of shadows and light that suggest bodies beneath the surface of her figurative abstract works. Adler takes an intuitive approach to exploring structural integrity. She begins with the visceral sensations inspired by what lies underneath an organism, expressing a felt sense of foundation in each composition. Her paintings, encaustics, and collagraphs evoke movement and stasis through a markedly dark palette and shapes gathered like an inventory of bones.

About the artists: Robin Adler is an abstract painter and printmaker based in the Hudson Valley. Working in various media—including oil, acrylic, wax, and ink—Adler transcribes emotional experience into visual form. Karen Allen earned a BFA in painting while on scholarship at Syracuse University in the late 1970s and has been practicing art ever since. Eileen Sackman has a comprehensive background in fine arts, having earned an MFA in ceramics from SUNY New Paltz, an MA in sculpture from Adelphi University, and a BA in sculpture from Hunter College. She is an instructor and professor of ceramics and maintains a flourishing studio practice and an active exhibition schedule.