The genesis of this exhibition can be traced back to late 2022, when Raychael
Stine received a precious gift of paints from the New Mexico studio of the
late painter Susan Rothenberg, who passed away in May 2020. Recognizing the
profound significance of this inheritance, Raychael chose to share a portion
of these paints with Jennifer Sullivan, knowing their shared admiration for
Rothenberg's work. Both artists regarded this gift as transformative—a sacred
transmission from their artistic hero, sparking a new phase in their creative
development.

This exhibition marks the public debut of the paintings created with these
materials, conceived as valentines or love letters to Susan Rothenberg, to
the act of painting itself, and to the emotional expressiveness that guided
Rothenberg's work. The collected works reflect each artists' individual
interpretations and resonances with Rothenberg's enduring legacy, who
continues to inspire and shape their artistic journeys in unique and
generative ways.

Raychael Stine’s sensual, ebullient abstractions of distilled hidden dogs and
exuberant flower gardens toss around and reconfigure painterly conventions of
landscape, portraiture, and painterly approaches to depth scale, and level of
legibility. The paintings embody the feelings of wonder, awe, and joy, and
become hovering pictures of transitional time.

This body of paintings serve as both fantasy thank you notes to Susan
Rothenberg and valentines to her cherished dogs from the past. Dogs, a
recurring motif symbolizing physicality and intuitive spirit, are central in
Stine's work, echoing Rothenberg’s exploration of animal subjects throughout
her career. Each painting, in a square format, features a heart embedded in
both border and composition, often portraying two dogs in tender embrace.
Grounds for the works are built upon fragments of album covers that can be
found in Stine’s and Rothenberg’s music collection. known elements like sky
and landscape blend with the dog figures, occasionally incorporating human
forms like arms or breasts embracing the painterly animals.

Inspired by Stine’s first favorite painting, Rothenberg’s Cabin Fever (1976),
the largest two-panel work in the exhibition depicts a dog in profile, head
to the sky, amidst a swirling cosmic garden of joy. This painting marks a
pivotal exploration for Stine, using Rothenberg’s influence and ethos as a
foundational ground rather than mere aesthetic reference.

If paintings are prayers, as Rothenberg once asserted, then the artist’s
studio must be the altar. Jennifer Sullivan’s recent paintings capture
intimate compositional moments inspired by spontaneous arrangements of
materials, mementos, and gifted objects she has assembled into a makeshift
painting shrine within the sanctuary of her home-studio. This "shrine"
prominently features a portrait and quote by Rothenberg as a central element,
serving as visual reminders of artistic integrity and encouragement to
persevere. Set against walls transformed into varying shades of pink, these
works evoke a metaphysical space of creation infused with love and personal
history.

The arrival of gifted paints and brushes from Rothenberg’s studio sparked
Sullivan’s contemplation of the symbolic power of her creative space and its
nuanced details—a theme also explored by Rothenberg and earlier by Matisse.
In contrast to her predecessors, Sullivan portrays her studio in fragmented,
close-up views rather than depicting it in its entirety, within a rose-
colored atmosphere that exudes soft, feminine energy. Her approach to
painting is playful and romantic, a reflection of her artistic evolution.
Within her emotional and creative realm, where everyday objects and personal
reflections converge, the cat replaces the dog as a companion figure — a
symbol of femininity and unwavering authenticity