Janet Purcell reviews an exhibition of paintings by Geoffrey Dorfman titled Eye and Mind at Rider University Art Gallery, Lawrenceville, NJ, on view through March 3, 2013.

Purcell writes: "What you will first see as you step into the Rider art gallery is color. Then you’ll see energy… In Dorfman’s paintings you begin by noticing the marks, the scrapes, the 'holidays' of light where the canvas peeks through. Then the eye begins to follow his fractured strokes, the colors that remain more individual rather than blended." Purcell continues, noting that in a discussion with curator Harry I. Naar "Dorfman says, for him, art is a form of play and points out 'play is a suspension of the real.' He says, 'When engaged in play you surrender your ‘real' everyday life' and become a player.' This, he says is both a heightened state of being and a loss of personal identity."

More of the discussion between Geoffrey Dorfman and Harry I. Naar is available in the show catalog.