WASHINGTON, DC.-The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden opened the exhibit Amy Sillman: Third Person Singular through July 6. New York-based painter Amy Sillman produces works that are intimate, psychological and full of humor and pathos. At the same time, they are remarkably analytical and intellectual investigations into the forms and qualities of painting as a medium. Combining calligraphic, gestural areas with large bands of color that often serve as outlines, Sillman resists prescribed categories within painting and allows her works to remain ambiguous. In her most recent large-scale paintings, the spaces become increasingly sculptural as she builds bold, overlapping sections while continuously rearranging them. Fascinated by the act of coupling, Sillman has recently been creating a body of work that begins by observing couples that she knows, translating her "findings" into a range of visual interpretations.

Amy Sillman’s work is highly intuitive. Her rich, colourful paintings reveal a lyrical charm, detailing visions of dream-like impressions. Conceiving painting as an outward projection of an inner dialogue, Amy Sillman approaches painting as a visual sub-language, an expression of sentiments that float intangibly between mental consciousness and formulated communication. Amy Sillman’s canvases offer glimpses into this subliminal world; veering between abstract and almost representational, she strives to give form to the spontaneous meanderings of her imagination.