“In this her second solo exhibition at Alpha Gallery, Jean Sbarra Jones continues her exploration of the transformative qualities of light. In her paintings of wooded landscapes and city street scenes light takes on a life of its own. Capturing her subjects at dawn or dusk, Jones seeks conditions of light that are rich and nuanced. (She recalls a photography teacher once telling her to “never take vacation shots at noon. The sun will bleach everything out and no one will want to look at your pictures.”) Seeking out times when the light is shifting allows Jones to create a dialogue between the abstract qualities of color and form and the representation of place - between moments of mystery and revelation.
The light of daybreak became of particular interest to Jones during the pandemic. Living in downtown Salem, yet craving outdoor activity, she and her husband developed a strategy of going for walks at sunrise, before the city streets became crowded with tourists. Out of this practice arose an interest in portraying areas in her historic neighborhood. These paintings reflect the quietude of dawn and the refuge that Jones found there. Continuing her explorations of light in this new manner, Jones discovered something else: as she puts it “light became much needed hope and restoration.”
Joanna Fink, owner/director of