saturation totem 3
Date2012
MediumOil on board [gatorboard]
Dimensionsapprox. 82 1/4 × 39 7/16 inches (208.9 × 100.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. Joseph V. Ryan, Jr. in honor of Captain and Mrs. Joseph V. Ryan, Sr. and Ms. Kathleen C. Ryan.
Object number2020.18.10
Copyright© Betsy Cain 2012.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextBetsy Cain has maintained an active studio practice in Savannah for 38 years. Her work is influenced by the salt marshes, tidal creeks, and barrier islands surrounding her home. The natural elements that enliven the marsh—flowing grasses, viscous pluff mud, reflective water, shifting light—all find expression in Cain’s paintings and cutouts. The artist describes her paintings as “a primordial soup” infiltrated by water, mud, and light. Her work also effectively distills less tangible aspects of the coastal environment, such as texture, density, light, and humidity.
Her bold, sweeping strokes and unfettered swirls are evidence of a body in motion, finding artistic precedent in mid-century action painting. Cain identifies a “liquidity or dance” in the gestures she records on canvas and rarely works larger than her own reach, ensuring that her works relate to the scale of the human body. She seeks to create a dialogue between the internal and external that expresses physical energy and mental states.
