Rachel Ostrow’s paintings exist somewhere between what is recognizable and what is otherworldly or abstract. They indulge in the mystery, uncertainty and changeability of perception and give authority to the viewer’s imagination to complete the experience.

Painting with a squeegee, she unearths images by spreading transparent paint around on a slippery panel. She adds paint with a brush and throws paint and mediums at the surface. Then, with varied speed, pressure and gesture, she draws over those marks with the squeegee. When paint combines under pressure from the rubber blade, it mixes based on its material properties. Oil paints are composed of different pigments and binders. When the colors are pushed together, they form detailed passages that are irregular and mimic the natural world.

The gesture of her mark is (somewhat) controlled, but the way the paint reacts underneath it is not. The paintings exist as physical records of movement, both natural and (wo)man-made. They embody the relationship between intention and chance, echoing the dynamic in our universe between order and chaos.

Rachel Ostrow is a Brooklyn-based painter and printmaker. She earned a B.A. in Fine Arts from Wesleyan University, a post-baccalaureate degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and an M.F.A. in painting from Hunter College. She has had solo exhibitions at Planthouse (NYC,NY), 42 Social Club (Lyme, CT), Sunday Takeout (Brooklyn, NY), The Kenan Center (Lockport, NY), John Davis Gallery, (Hudson, NY), Saffron (Brooklyn, NY), and Todojunto Gallery (Barcelona, Spain). She has been included in exhibitions in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Montreal, Joshua Tree, CA, Santa Barbara, CA, Great Barrington, MA and Ballinskelligs, Ireland.