PA III - PS3, egg tempera and gold leaf on gessoed panel

Mary Obering is an American mixed media artist and painter. The artist’s works walk the line between painting and sculpture, usually taking the form of heavy, blocky wall-hanging pieces that combine elements of minimalist painting and geometric abstraction.

Blocks V, egg tempera and white gold leaf on gessoed panel

Obering’s portfolio is very cohesive even across multiple decades of work. The artist’s paintings almost always consist of multiple rectangular panels, each painted or covered over with gold leaf. The juxtaposition of rich, textured planes of colour with panels of gold leaf lends the works a sense of opulence that invites the viewer to imagine their intended context.

I really enjoy the way Obering plays with perspective in some of her works, as well. In some recent paintings, the artist places colour and gold leaf along the edges of a canvas, creating a kind of double view -- the painting looks quite different from different angles.

Giuliano 1, egg tempera and gold leaf on gesso