“Altered Matter x 2” features paintings by Brenda Cirioni and Iris Osterman. From the literal to the abstract, Cirioni and Osterman infuse emotion and physicality into their work. Cirioni’s instinctive abstractions use saturated color and energetic marks to express the inner workings of her mind and spirit. Osterman paints scenes that describe imaginary places with a strong graphic line and an evocative, earthy palette, creating fractured landscapes that often conjure dreamlike tableaus. These two artists render in paint their reactions to their world, tearing down and building up the surfaces of their canvases until their respective visions are achieved.

Brenda Cirioni’s new abstract work is a departure from her previous paintings that were rooted in landscape. Layers, textures, marks and color remain key to her process. Cirioni layers her mixed media paintings by scribbling, drawing and painting; she then scrapes and sands the surface, revealing what’s been obscured. The resultant works are fraught with emotional expressions. Cirioni’s newest work is inspired by the seismic eruption 7000 years ago of Mt. Mazama that created Crater Lake.