Peter Acheson blogs about the exhibition Deirdre Swords: Paintings at John Davis Gallery, Hudson, NY, on view through September 9, 2012.

Acheson writes: "Ostensibly, abstract and gestural, the works slowly reveal a theme under the color and brushwork. Each work reinforces, then subtly contradicts the next, adding information to a baseline of brushstroke and rough drawing. In four paintings a concentric structure dominates; a radiating network of lines haloes a central area which is either a form or void. In two others, lines dance in opened spaces, energized and calligraphic. Color is either muted browns and pinks or lurid yellows and green. One painting presents a whitish and light blue grid, accented with crosses and triangles, and there is one small radiant watercolor that suggests that Swords want us to read the works closeup."