440 Gallery presents La Luna, a new series of pastel drawings by Jo-Ann Acey. This marks the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.

Jo-Ann Acey’s drawings combine the real and the imaginary. In the exhibition, La Luna, she combines the beauty of nature with her sense of fantasy. Acey’s deliberate, yet spontaneous use of color and line become vital forces in these pastel drawings. The images emerge with energy and movement taking the viewer to a new universe.

Acey writes of the series: “The Moon series continues my journey to find joy in unexpected moments. I don’t imitate or copy what I see, but rather respond to what I felt at a particular time. The images created are more about an emotional response recorded in my mind’s memory bank. As the process continues, color, shape and line take on a new life. I let the idea unfold as I work. Often nature is a force in my work. During the creative process the images become more about the relationship between the real and the remembered. Spontaneity and energy begin to dictate the direction the work takes.”

In her piece, Red Moon with Yellow, 2016, Acey explains “This [piece] began with my fascination with the phases of the moon, the largeness and visual impact of the various Full Moons. I began to imagine the moon from different perspectives - above and below the earth. The landscape and sky emerged along with the dwelling images as if I were floating in the space."

Acey received an MFA in Painting and Drawing from Texas Tech University. Her work has been included in shows in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, New Mexico and is in private collections throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

IN THE PROJECT SPACE: CHUSE, MAKON, STOCK: NEW WORK

In new transitional paintings Ellen Chuse conveys her on-going engagement with organic forms in nature combined with line and edge. The shapes that Chuse works with can be hard to identify, and when coupled with evocative saturated color, create an ambiguity that challenges the viewer to bring personal associations and experiences to each piece.

Watercolorist Joy Makon is showing new landscapes that explore the sky at different times and perspectives. A brilliant sunset is viewed from the height of the F train as it travels outside in Brooklyn. Iconic Mont Saint Michel, from the Brittany Coast in France, is glimpsed through a field of Queen Anne’s lace on a sunny morning. An old pine tree in Prospect Park is colored by the fading afternoon sun in autumn.

Photographer David Stock continues his exploration of the hard-working storefronts of New York.