Artist Roberta Caviglia approaches each painting like a puzzle, carefully mapping out the space with geometric lines and patterns. In Playful Geometry #4, we see a series of squares, rectangles and triangles perfectly wedged together in a large frame. Innocent and spare, the bright, energetic colors look like children’s building blocks carefully leaning against one another. In Playful Geometry #3, we see stacks of red, purple and gray blocks come together as if they’re slowly inching upward, suggesting a feeling of optimism. Subtle shifts in hue create depth in the frame as the viewer tries to derive some sense of order or meaning from the overall pattern.
As a mother of four, including triplets, Caviglia often finds herself longing for the comfort of predictable, geometric patterns. While embracing chaos, she seeks order and clarity in her life and her work, heeding these different perspectives simultaneously. Precise and rigid and yet full of expression, her geometric landscapes reveal an internal battle between the lure of pure creative expression and the relief of finite possibilities.
