Linda Griggs, “Comfort and Loss”
The Front Room Gallery Presents:
Linda Griggs – Comfort and Loss
Exhibition Dates: February 8th – March 9th, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 8th, 4–6 PM
Gallery Hours: Friday–Sunday, 12–5 PM, and by appointment
The Front Room Gallery is pleased to present Comfort and Loss, a solo exhibition featuring the oil paintings of Linda Griggs. Griggs’ work offers a poignant exploration of nostalgia, community, and the everyday. By skillfully blending sepia-toned and monochromatic backgrounds with vibrant, saturated blues, she creates a striking visual contrast. Her selective use of varnish enhances the depth of each piece, highlighting specific elements with a glossy finish that adds dimension to the surface of the painting.
Linda Griggs’ subjects are everyday scenes such as community pools, motel pools, and above-ground pools, far removed from the opulence of infinity pools or exclusive retreats. Instead, Griggs’ pools are spaces of connection and familiarity, rendered with a romanticism reminiscent of the Hudson River School.
Griggs transforms these humble settings into meditations on shared experiences and fleeting moments. Her paintings invite viewers to reflect on the intersections of comfort and loss, memory and place, elevating the ordinary into the extraordinary.
In Griggs’ “Pool Fence, the Letter of the Law,” she has chosen to accentuate the floppy cross-patterned plastic fence-roll that has been used to create an enclosure around an above-ground pool. This lowbrow solution to a practical problem is beautiful in its own mundane way–visually and conceptually. The diamond-shaped patterns are reflected in the water, while a serene, bucolic lawn and a forested backdrop frame the scene, adding depth and context.
In “Salad Bar, Myrtle Beach,” Griggs depicts colorful bowls of Jello resting in an iced lettuce tray, ready for customers to select. She employs a selective “spot glaze” to accentuate the glossy texture of the Jello, making it stand out against the other items in the tray. Regardless of one’s cultural associations, the image presents the Jello in a way that looks positively delicious.
Her work has been included in numerous museum, gallery and university exhibitions. She has had solo shows at ADO, Christopher Stout and Carolyn J Roy Galleries in NYC and Hampden Gallery, UMass Amherst. Past group exhibitions include the Iwami Art Museum in Japan, the Leubsdorf Gallery at Hunter College, Gahlberg Gallery at the College of DuPage, the Wustum Museum, ABC No Rio, PS122, Satellite Art Fair, Albany International Airport Gallery, Bridgewater Fine Arts, Vox Populi/American Fine Arts, and the New York Public Library. Fellowships include the MacDowell and Millay Colonies and the LES Rotating Studio Program. Her work is included in the collections of JP Morgan Chase, Peter Klein-Obac Corporation, Therese Lichtenstein, Brian Rutenberg, Ann Partlow, Bill Raden and Susan Fletcher, and Bob Crozier among others.
Join us at The Front Room Gallery to experience this compelling exhibition that celebrates the artistry of Linda Griggs and the beauty of life's quiet, communal spaces.
Contact:
The Front Room Gallery
205 Warren Street
Hudson, New York 12534
For appointments or press inquiries, please contact (718) 782 - 2556.
Linda Griggs, “Night Swimming” (oil and selective varnish on canvas) 40” x 60" (2024)
Linda Griggs, “Anniversary Pool” (oil and selective varnish on canvas) 28” x 36" (2023)
Linda Griggs, “Hamilton Fish Kiddie Pool” (oil on canvas, selective varnish) 48” x 56" (2023)
Linda Griggs, “Sirens” (oil on canvas, selective varnish) 32” x 62" (2023)
Linda Griggs, “Oasis (Pool Opens in Three Days)” (oil, wold wax and selective varnish on canvas) 48” x 48” (2025)
Linda Griggs, “Pool Fence - Letter of the Law” (oil and selective varnish on canvas, galkyd) 38” x 54" (2024)
Linda Griggs, “Memorial: Bob and Mervyn Fishing” (oil on canvas, selective varnish) 50” x 50” (2023)
Linda Griggs, “Piggly” (oil on canvas) 48” x 58” (2022)
Linda Griggs, “Love is Love” (Egg tempera, black walnut ink, and watercolor pencil on Rives BFK) 10.5” x 14.25” (2025)