Palm Still Life with Apples, oil on linen, 30" x 25"
Sandra Caplan’s still life paintings reveal vases, vividly colored porcelain, leaves, fruit and diverse flowers placed on finely decorated materials. A joyous celebration of rich and sumptuous color is further enhanced by placing objects against windows surrounded by draperies which seem to be slightly moving and through which can be seen limpid blue skies, subtly veiled by clouds or an elegant arch among clipped cypresses and a calm sea. Her use of familiar domestic objects in her paintings is enhanced by the addition of elements from works of the Italian Renaissance, particularly those of Mantengna and Botticelli, often placed against a landscape which she sees from her studio window.
- Simona Clementoni, excerpt from catalog essay, “Sentieri” (“Paths”), Landscapes, Still Life, Ray Ciarrocchi, Sandra Caplan, Palazzina Azzurra, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
Orange Cloth, Zinnias, and Sea, watercolor, 24" x 18"
Sandra Caplan’s work (oil paintings, pastels, drawings and watercolors) exudes color and light. Anything but “still” life, they are lushly packed with the evidence of life and growth – flowers, vegetables and fruit, the sea and sky… one drinks in the close-up world and then moves to the freedom and openness of the world surrounding it. The eye travels from object to object; foreground to background, to foreground once more. Energy is found in the dynamic, yet never distracting movement of brushstroke, particularly in the watercolors. Indeed, nothing feels too busy – just richly enticing. Reminiscent of Cezanne, Caplan changes angle and point of view within the same work, creating for the viewer, a sense of shifting in relation to the objects viewed.
- Susan Hartenstein, excerpt from review, The Wave, Rockaway Artists Alliance
Reflections and Hudson River, oil on linen, 56" x 48"
… “blazingly colored evocations of cut flowers, fruits and assorted table pieces. Caplan’s work goes beyond still-life literally and figuratively, to exterior views and landscapes. The effect is to let the eye wander through physical layers of the paintings, from close ups to panoramas in the distance, with a sense of unflagging interest at the wealth of perspective and detail in their broad depth of field.
- Art Speak Magazine
Zucchini and Sea, oil on linen, 44" x 36"
Walking into a gallery full of Sandra Caplan’s still lifes is like walking into a hotel room overlooking the Mediterranean. The paintings saturate the atmosphere with a light so palpable you can inhale it … It’s the audacity of these paintings which gives delight; that and the lightness of touch that composes and controls them.
- David Daniel, Art and Antiques Magazine
Red Pears and Ribbon, pastel, 26" x 19"
Sandra Caplan follows the tradition of Degas and the Impressionists in relishing the atmospheric softness of pastel. Her floral subjects allow free use of subtle nuances of color and shading. Her technical mastery is demonstrated by her individual style; short, quick strokes of chalk applied to the paper with a sure hand. The results are striking in their vivid sensitivity.
- Wendy E. Goetz, Assistant Curator, Winnipeg Art Gallery, excerpt from catalogue essay
Magnolia Leaves, Villa, and Sea, charcoal on paper, 19" x 25"
Working in situ in Le Marche, Italy, as well as recreating scenes after the fact in New York City, Sandra Caplan composes rich, loaded landscapes in charcoal from the still life. Patterned fabrics, ribbons, and the edges of fallen magnolia leaves are among the many subjects that become moving lines, which insinuate themselves into the drawings as lost and found unifying parts. Her subtle use of negative space encourages this movement and recalls earlier work where Caplan used fabric ribbons as device in a more minimal context. Now those ribbon shapes can be found in her dense, charcoal drawings, along with white lines in pastel that enrich the various tonalities.
Architecture occupies background space in many of these works. Enduring and hard- edged structures provide a counterpoint to the fragile lifespan of the organic forms, which consume the page. Space and light are explored through a density of forms in her drawings. In Caplan’s hands Redon’s assertion that “black is the most essential color”, rings true – using charcoal she captures not only the beauty inherent in the individual objects but also the spirit and intensity of her materials.
– Filmore Projects, Press Release from the exhibition
Sandra Caplan: Metaphorical Transitions, Kinescope Gallery, NYC