The title Entropvisions is in homage to my mother, the poet and art critic, Harriet Zinnes. In 1990 New Directions published a collection of her poems titled Entropisms, a word she made-up combining entropy - the tendency toward disorder - and tropism - the growth towards or away from a stimulus. Similarly, my short reviews combine entropy and tropism by suggesting growth towards a vision of art from the chaos of the art world. Through the back door, my title also pays homage to my physicist father, Irving Zinnes, whose long discussions with my mom got her thinking about entropy and tropism in the first place.
Allyson Strafella at Phillip Douglas Fine Art
2026.8.7
Sometimes less is more. Such is the case with the work by Allyson Strafella on view through Aug. 30 at Phillip Douglas Fine Art in Hudson. Though self-describing her work as drawings – since they grew out of her need to express herself through drawing – they are visually more closely aligned with painting. Or maybe sculpture, as their physical presence creates much of their effect. Precariously adhered to the wall with tape at the top corners, these delicately colored tender shapes float off the wall, gently blown by the gallery breezes that move through and with them. Or perhaps they are visual writing, as they also grew out her early love of writing on a typewriter. After making a sketch on handmade paper she inserts this paper into a typewriter, along with a sheet infused with color, and repeatedly taps the colon key, slowly transferring this color to the handmade sheet, much as would happen with carbon paper transfers. Simultaneously, she pulls and tugs the paper to get the effects she wants. Her process is slow, with many pulls through the typewriter. This seemingly mechanical approach might suggest a final mechanical result, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, without looking closely, the process itself might be impossible to fathom. Instead, what we see are quiet, felt, slightly textured shapes of color with little rips and cuts that appear to be unconsciously born from a meditative state. I was lucky that Allyson walked into the gallery when I was there because I was able to learn some of the backstory. Apparently she recently traveled to Japan, bringing home photos of intriguing architecture she saw. Pinning these photos on her studio walls, she reexperienced sensations of place, sounds, smells, textures and activities which, though she insisted were not directly illustrated in her art, still feel embedded in the work. Although certainly not literal, her art is indeed evocative, bringing us to our own memories, our own poetry and our own inner music. Give yourself permission to leave the summer bustle and enjoy these contemplative works of art.