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Steve Aishman on Smith’s show, “Torch Songs,” at Saltworks Gallery through May 31.

By Daniel Walden

Twinhouse Gallery at 2815 Peachtree Road is hosting a show called Trifecta, which includes the work of Atlanta artists Jeff Cohen, Karen Hollingsworth and Neil Hollingsworth. Twinhouse’s storefront windows announce that they deal with “contemporary and classical realism.” This becomes evident as you scan the works in the window and see Neil Hollingsworth’s Cherry Can and Jeff Cohen’s Sky Candy. Both paintings are absolutely enjoyable but Sky Candy, which pictures a red and white checkered water tower at dusk or dawn, along with the majority of Cohen’s other works, has an extra twist that sets it apart from the others. “Elements” seem to be the key “element” of Cohen’s paintings. For example, Sky Candy, at 36″ x 42″, is made up of 42 evenly sized square blocks. The painting almost seems to be a 3D puzzle assembled for the viewer’s pleasure. The colors of the sky and background do not match up seamlessly, revealing the different blocks used in forming the whole painting.

Cohen carries this theme throughout his works and even mixes it up a bit. In Very Salty, a 48″ x 48″ painting of a salt shaker, he breaks some of the small squares into even smaller squares. The result is a painting that seems almost pixilated yet the salt shaker is very clear and realistic. Water towers, bicycles, salt shakers, farmland and flowers all serve as Cohen’s extremely well done subjects. They all have a very similar style, not meaning they all look the same, but that the artist’s work is very consistent.

Between the works of both Karen and Neil Hollingsworth there are some nice still life paintings but their work doesn’t have the same contemporary feeling of Cohen’s joined blocks concept. However, notable pieces are Neil Hollingsworth’s rightfully titled Cherry Can, a painting of cherries stacked atop one another inside of a tin can. Bread Bag and Sliced Bread No. 2 both show an excellent portrayal of bread inside of a plastic bag. The way Hollingsworth captured the light hitting the plastic of the bag is to be commended. Karen Hollingsworth also paints still life paintings, with the works in this show focusing on windows with an ocean view. The way she captures a gentle ocean breeze blowing the curtains through an open window is notable. Her use of soft colors and subject matter ties her pieces together.

While the works of the Trifecta artists are all indeed pleasing to look at, there is another artist whose work is worthy of the trip to the gallery. The artwork of Elizabeth Stockton is shown in the Twinhouse gallery but not in the Trifecta show. Stockton’s work is mostly square in format with calming color palettes. Waterways, nature and openness are common themes in her pieces. She breaks the works into waterways and grass on the bottom quarter of the painting and donates the rest of her canvases to representing the sky. In a couple pieces she represents clouds but for the most part her skies are nice washes of color. Depending on the time of day depicted, the sky may consist of nice palettes of blue, gray even olive and beige. Creation is a perfect example of the square canvas being used by Stockton to paint her waterways and open sky. Many of her pieces are square in format but not all. The gallery did a nice job of hanging her works together making a grid like installation with her multiple square and rectangular pieces.

There are many pieces in the gallery that make a trip to the show worth it. The works of Elizabeth Stockton and Jeff Cohen are alone worthy of a trip to gallery. The work of each artist can be seen in the respective artist’s style yet the work is not at all boring. This work is fresh, pleasing and very worth seeing. The Twinhouse gallery is definitely a place for contemporary and classical realism.

Trifecta runs through March 20.

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