21 Months, 147 Miles, Painting the Bay: Lorena Pugh

Reflecting on her show, Lorena Pugh remarked, “If I could rename [it], I would call it moments of Narragansett Bay,” and it’s easy to see why. Her exhibition —21 Months, 147 Miles, Painting the Bay at Providence Picture Frame & Dryden Gallery— consists of nearly 150 paintings ranging from minuscule to monumental and offering a broad look into the wildlife, landscapes and waters of the Bay. Pugh has been known as a contemporary still life painter, yet this exhibition marks her exploration into landscapes and beyond. The works range from life-sized paintings of the waves, inspired by her love of open-water swimming, to palm-size, five-minute gouache sketches completed as a meditation on time and ephemerality. While the large-scale works were made in her studio—the largest is a stunning 24-foot image of crashing waves—most of the landscapes were done en plein air. Indeed, the immersive scope of the collection creates a sense of time well spent in a beloved location.

Lorena Pugh, Wave Sketches, gouache, 3 ¼ x 8″. Courtesy of the artist.

“When people speak about landscapes, they often refer to the painting as having a sense of place. I think it might be more accurate to say the painting has a sense of time.” Pugh’s descriptions of her approach to landscapes as well as the momentary quality of her work recall the atmospheric experimentations of the Impressionists, even while many of her paintings are created with a delicate realism. The meditative quality of the exhibition is among its most remarkable features. Pugh has spent nearly two years composing this body of work, an act of devoted attention that has only increased her appreciation for the diverse landscape of Narragansett Bay. To be surrounded by this array of paintings in the substantial space of Providence Picture Frame & Dryden Gallery encourages us to consider our position in relation to nature, whether through the individualizing portraits of wildlife or the subtly shifting views of oft-visited scenes. In this time of ecological vulnerability, Pugh’s works are an invitation to appreciate the tender, striking and varied beauty of Rhode Island’s landscape, and a reminder of our responsibility to care for all its inhabitants.