Suzy Andron’s organic, dimensional paintings and “Polytychs” swirl with life force and dazzling color. Sometimes the free spirit is masked. The three long panels of dancing, glittering energy in “Carnival” are darkly cloaked in mystery. Texture in other pieces, seem like peeling tree bark and lava flowing from within the earth, making our urge to touch them almost irresistible.

A serious painter since graduating from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., Andron later earned a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at N.C. State University then worked for two years as teaching assistant with iconic Professor Joe Cox.

Andron persistently pushes her own aesthetic boundaries while sharing openly with her students at UNC Greensboro and at Meredith College in Raleigh.

When she started pushing her own aesthetic boundaries, she exercised a similar “push/pull” on her actual painting formats. Expanding upon the time-honored tradition of diptychs and triptychs (two- and three-panel paintings), she began experimenting with multiple canvases. Each single canvas would serve as a “stand-alone” composition, yet became compositionally enhanced by the additional elements.

Andron defines her polytychs as “any number of connected canvases coexisting and fully in concert within a single framework. … The geometry of these compositions continues to grow interestingly complex along with the number and three-dimensionality of the combined canvases and the irregularity of their perimeters. Most of these works are connected within a singular, undulating frame. This exhibition is displaying 19 pieces comprised of 63 canvases.

Skyway to Venus, Acrylic, 24” x 24” is a polytych combining eight small canvases. All are aligned in the same formation except that the second line is off-set, making the overall frame quite different from any ordinary painting.

Harvest, Acrylic and mixed media, 38 x38” (three canvases) is a lyrical, green, growing pod-like thing. Set on the diagonal, its form bursts up and outward, sending out spiraling tendrils. Truly alive! Jerry’s Artarama in Raleigh commissioned Andron to teach her “polytych” process in a workshop for the public. It was filmed and is now available to patrons of the store, and online from Jerry’s and from Andron’s website. This painting, Harvest, was created during that demonstration video.

Carnival, Acrylic and mixed media, 62” x 70” is a compelling and dramatic grouping of three vertical panels: two adjacent ones touching, while the third, on the right is at a small remove, somewhat like the way individuals within a group dynamic, demand some degree of separation. Each panel evokes a mysterious masked figure dancing with abandon.

Straight from the Heart Acrylic & Mixed Media, 22”x 24” is entirely different in mood, material and composition. It is a single square panel supporting a smaller square canvas that is set diagonally. A hole has been cut through that one to the bottom layer. You can almost smell the green of the earth, the dry leaves (pleated paper) and the piercing of the heart.

Andron’s work is hung in several corporate art collections including SAS Institute, Red Hat Corporate Office, and the Salvation Army. Recent Exhibits have been in the Rosenzweig Gallery, Durham; Associated Artists Gallery in Winston Salem; Salon Moxie in Raleigh; Holly Springs Culture Center; Works of Heart, Raleigh; Jibarra’s Restaurant, Raleigh.

Within the community, Andron was a co-founder of the Raleigh Artist Community (RAC) that later became the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh. She s also a longtime member of the Durham Art Guild. Her recent works “have involved the recipient and careful investigation of where the piece will reside … studying the ambient and artificial lighting, the colors, textures and fabrics of the space,” she says. “This approach blends all 40 years of art into the best for today … and tomorrow.”

Adrienne Garnett is a long-time exhibiting artist and arts educator.