Groveland Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of A Closer Look, an exhibition of new prints and paintings by Cindy Koopman and Carl Oltvedt. Though the two artists employ different media to explore their subjects, they share an inexhaustible curiosity about the ecosystems around them.

Cindy Koopman’s current subject is the collection of plants housed at the Bell Museum’s herbarium. The layered nature of printmaking is a fitting medium for Koopman, who overlaps context and meaning in each one of her pieces. Intricately rendered specimens lay on top of maps, text, and coordinates, as the artist tells a visual story of each plant’s life. Despite Koopman’s systematic approach to her research, the resulting works are vibrant and alive. Unafraid to take artistic risks, the artist writes, “I love how printmaking, while demanding careful planning, invites play and experimentation and defies my attempts to predict the outcome. The results are always surprising to me.”

Contrasting Koopman’s crisp edges and exacting linework, Carl Oltvedt leaves evidence of the hand in his drawings. Starting, like Koopman, from a base of careful observation, he glides seamlessly from gestural marks to fine detail. His birds (a favorite subject for the artist) are alive on the page—some stare watchfully, others are ready to launch into flight. Oltvedt explains of his process, “The individual works are always a distillation of observed information balanced with adjustments for my expressive interpretation.  In the end, I strive to instill a sense of presence and mystery in the works I create.”