Mary DeVincentis Herzog is a storyteller. Her large paintings – most are around 5 feet – house mythical and biblical stories in painted worlds, where boundaries between the human, natural, mythical and divine blend, and all things coexist in harmony. Mary’s are magical paintings that ask us to suspend belief as humans and animals interact as equals. Saint Anthony speaks with fish that swim freely around him, Saint Geronimo removes a thorn from a lion’s jaw while the lion patiently waits, and St. Francis almost dances with delight as he lies on the ground, level with the bird he entertains. Mary’s paintings also bring honor to women. For instance, Sita, Rama’s wife in the ancient Hindi epic, The Ramayana, proudly reclines, pregnant, under a tree as a cobra sings and balances on her huge belly, or, in another painting, a large and powerful naked woman, tattooed with symbols of family and animal friends, journeys towards a welcoming light-filled creature and diminutive but joyful lover’s peeking-out face. Birds inhabit many of the paintings, perhaps as symbols of freedom and nature’s ubiquity, but also omnipresent are animated trees, fish and islands that fly as they float. Mary seems to be saying that anything can happen if we just dream it, and if we want it hard enough, perhaps our real world, too, can regain its balance. Her exhibition at Freight + Volume Gallery remains up through Nov. 11, and on Nov. 4 from 4-6pm, Mary and Paola Gallio of Tappeto Volante Projects will be discussing the work.