Although Sable’s style is not altogether representational, it sidesteps the rules of mid-20th-century pure abstraction. Many of the forms simulate volume and depth, and evoke such rounded organic objects as fruits, wings or bodily organs. Such pictures as “Big Mouth” bear some resemblance to the things mentioned in their titles, even if the depictions are far from literal. Day-Glo pinks and reds provide buzzing energy, while their artificiality undermines the hints of naturalism.
The older paintings displayed on Sable’s website indicate that the artist has never employed hard-edge geometric designs. But her earlier work does emphasize recurring forms and allover compositions. The “New River” pictures, made in 2022 and 2023, are looser and less symmetrical, with mottled patterns shoehorned into furrows or patchwork sections. The paintings often focus on some sort of core: Ovals and crescents rotate around a central shape, which can appear to be a void. The eye is drawn into a rounded, dark-colored space, as if trying to peer into a dimly lighted cave.
Talking to a visitor about her previous show, Sable called some of the pictures “diaristic,” and such titles as “Troubles on My Mind” and “You Only Have to Hold Me” suggest the same of these newer paintings. Yet the artist transforms her private feelings into colors and contours whose appeal is immediate but whose meaning is private. “New River’s” terrain is entirely personal.