Quillman_article

DeBottis Gallery. Philadelphia
artist Marilyn Kirsch exhibits for
the second time in this small but pleasant West Chester gallery.
     If one merely described the colors Kirsch uses - primarily shades of black and white - it might give the impression that Kirsch's oil paintings are melancholy-inducing works.
    On the contrary, many of Kirsch's paintings evoke such a sense of light and air, it seems as though they might float off the walls.
     Kirsch's method of layering paint and scraping areas away results in highly textured pieces that offer hints of underlying color, much like clouds reflecting wisps of ochre and blue sky.
     One large piece, Pool of Second Thoughts, contains patterns of white, grey and a color that borders on pink.
It's a natural pink, though, resembling a suggestion of red brick under a crumbling wall.
     Besides large paintings, Kirsch's solo show includes smaller works, such as three studies of insects, Cocoon, Dragonfly, and Beetle.