Neon Paintings, a solo exhibition by Mary Weatherford examining pivotal works from the last decade, opens at the Aspen Art Museum on December 18, 2020, and will remain on view through May 2, 2021. The Aspen Art Museum is open to the public with a total of 50 visitors permitted at a time under current guidelines.
"Weatherford uses abstract gestures to depict concrete places, each nonrepresentational mark alluding to her own daily life experiences and surroundings to invoke hidden narratives or underlying subject matter. Since the 1980s, the Los Angeles–based painter's canvases have incorporated a variety of techniques—from repeating concentric circles to screen printing and collage made with natural materials. In each of her series, the artist challenges the discourse of and around the aesthetics of abstract painting.
In 2012, Weatherford began to incorporate neon tubing into her work after driving around Bakersfield, California, where she was struck by the neon signage—both illuminated and burnt out—on bars, shops, and old factories. Weatherford's neons arc over thin veils of color, illuminating her canvases even as they act as their own expressive marks. The neon's dangling cords likewise create intentional lines across her paintings."—Aspen Art Museum

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