Balancing Act: Light, Plane, Shadow

In Balancing Act: Light, Plane, Shadow, Beth Caspar explores the relationship between shape, pattern, and structure through a body of work that spans painting, drawing, and three-dimensional construction. Rooted in an ongoing investigation of geometric forms, mathematically derived sequences, chance-generated patterns, and shapes derived from letters and words, the exhibition represents a deeper engagement with sculptural form and spatial presence.

The works on view include folded and constructed forms made from paper, cardboard, and aluminum. Some emerge from the flattened letterforms that informed earlier projects, while others are entirely invented, existing as unique configurations of balance, tension, and visual rhythm. Many of Caspar’s structures possess a sense of precariousness, appearing poised between stability and collapse, a quality further explored in a series of black-and-white drawings.

Central to the exhibition is the interplay of light, plane, and shadow. Light activates the surfaces of the constructions while simultaneously generating shifting shadow forms that become compositional elements in their own right. These relationships are examined in a series of small panel paintings as well as graphite and Prismacolor drawings on brown paper, where shadow and structure are translated into two-dimensional space.

Throughout Balancing Act: Light, Plane, Shadow, Caspar creates a playful visual dialogue among color, shape, line, and form, inviting viewers to consider the dynamic relationships between flatness and volume, certainty and instability, invention and perception.