Light in Hand at Pt. 2 Gallery

Oakland, California | June 11 - July 1, 2022

pt. 2 Gallery is pleased to present Light In Hand, a solo exhibition of new works by Kelly Ording. In Ording’s third solo exhibition with the gallery, she hones her experimentations as way to highlight the emotive qualities of color. Delicate shapes, dyed paper and repeated forms intersect across myriad relationships in Light in hand, united by uplifting and calming tones that permeate tenderness and joy. 

The human experience of recording time is not mechanical - as interpreted by Ording time is unconfined and personal. According to the circumstances of our surroundings and of our temperament it passes differently. The focused, repetitive forms central to Ording’s oeuvre each have a unique beginning and end. Along the way way, they subtly vibrate with the waves and permutations of the artist’s deliberate and gentle touch, each mark unique in its own way. Many of the foundational forms long repeated in Ording’s work are sorts of open loops - rounded forms that portray the passage of time as fluid and ever changing. 

These open loops allude to emotional journeys. Sensuous, convex and rounded forms mark the passage of joy and delight, as well as moments of longing and reflection. The new works in Light in Hand speak predominately towards the former, they exude lightness and tenderness in soothing hues of cyan, goldenrod and mauve. These effusive tones radiate on Ording’s signature dyed paper, which acts as a prominent anchor to the colored forms. As the backgrounds, speckled white and rich in warm stained hues, provide sanctuary and guidance for Ording’s painting the line between foreground and background begins to blur. Instead, the two exist in harmony - image and support all at once. 


As a title, Light in Hand speaks to this shared agency. From one perspective, Light in Hand refers to the deference with which Ording approaches her painting, each brushstroke deliberate yet gentle. In chorus with Ording’s own participation in the act of creation is the lightness of the roles that that color play, as both a formal element and a source of emotional bounty. The colors that intermingle in Light in Hand invoke the delicacy of joy, tenderness and love. 

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FOG Design+Art 2022