Existing comment:
Following 9/11, Montgomery took a course at the John James Audubon Center, a 200-plus acre sanctuary dedicated to preserving natural habitats for birds of the region. The grounds are crisscrossed by trails, with wilder spaces punctuated by gardens that offer places of spiritual nourishment. In the canvases that followed, she created a distinctly contemporary kind of still-life painting. Single flowers-often a gladiolus, sometimes a lily or bird of paradise-command the canvas. They stand like sentinels, demanding that we reconcile the organic beauty of the flower with the geometric rigor of bifurcated, often monochromatic, backgrounds. In title, image, and palette Fire and Ice speaks to passion, frozen spaces, and the conviction that beauty can flourish, even in challenging circumstances. The whimsical Leaning Toward Red reminds us that indecision precedes choice. The two white calla lilies arcing toward the edge of the canvas literally lean toward red, as did the artist as she chose the painting's format and color. These and the other flowers she created in the early years of the 21st century are reminders that Nature can offer striking analogies to the human condition. |