We’ll settle for spring

“The Garden of Eden” (painting), by Massachusetts artist Eileen Ryan, at 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, N.H., March 22-April 16.

She tells the gallery:

“I have many ideas pulsing through me at once and I have found that they are visually represented in two distinct ways in my art. The first is an organized approach to exploring concepts and questions. In a methodical manner using a naturalistic aesthetic I hypothesize and create around my findings. The second is through painting, where color and form begin without a plan and the questions and concepts are revealed at the end of the painting. This process takes trust and often leads to discovering things about myself and my subconscious.

“Painting for me feels like diving into the unknown, with ideas and facets of my self glinting throughout and the full spectrum only being revealed in the end of the painting. It’s like I am searching for the questions in my paintings, and answering them in my installations.

“This series of paintings documents recurring dreams I have had since I was a child. The settings range from magical dreamscapes to nuclear nightmares often including idols from my Catholic upbringing and mythical characters from stories I grew up listening to. These narratives are about the balance of power, warnings from the deep, and mystics representing creative energy and greed.’’

Portsmouth, N.H.