Phyllis Plattner, American Artist, 1940 - 2022

Plattner is both storyteller and social commentator, concerned with birth and the mother, soldiers and anarchy and death. Her works are epic paintings fused with geometric construction, Christian iconography and appropriated images. Images rich in art historical reference and painted in elaborate detail with jewel like tones that pay homage to beloved paintings by Giotto, Martini, Picasso and Mantegna, as well as historic photojournalism. Her paintings are comprised of multiple panels resplendent with gold leaf, raised embellishment and the decorative richness of Italian Renaissance altarpieces. Looking past the gorgeous surfaces, her paintings stir emotion and trigger an inner revolution. Plattner is concerned with political upheaval, racial and ethnic violence, consequence of war, as well as the meditative world and the divine.

--Nancy Scheinman, Nov. 2014