Whether she is depicting a piece of fruit in a still life, probing the curves of a seashell, or creating a colorful abstraction, Sandra Mueller-Dick creates an atmosphere that leaves space for each viewer’s interpretation. The secret to the unique ambiance of the works is her special combination of an impressive clarity and focus with a dreamlike feeling. Objects will sit alone in space, turning the viewer’s focus toward their inner qualities. Her abstractions, while vividly dynamic, also have a contemplative feeling. “I try to imbue my subject with a sense of mood in the way I integrate color with shape,” the artist says. That color sense can be applied in traditional ways (as in the realistic rendering of an apple or strawberry) or it can animate and give emotional weight to an abstract composition, while the balance of lights and darks gives all of her paintings a solidly three-dimensional feel.
Sandra Mueller-Dick, who lives and works in Brookline, Massachusetts, has been a gallery instructor at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for many years.