A Punch of Color: Fifty Years of Painting by Camille Patha

Camille Patha, the subject of a solo show at the Tacoma Art Museum, is an artist of deft skill who has an exuberant, occasionally trippy, sense of color. This exhibition catalogue suggests that one reason for Patha’s relative obscurity may be her gender. The clear, well-written catalogue by the show’s curators describes Patha’s rare talent, especially evident in the pure abstractions of her later works in which vibrant swathes of color burst with organic shapes that seem to pulsate across the canvases. Lucent Thicket (2005), Tropican (2009–2010), and Perpetually Forward (2011) are highlights. As Patha herself says about her need for vibrant hues, “I didn’t want to suppress my color, and my color began oozing out of my ears.” These joyful paintings will surely earn Patha new fans. 49 color illus. (June)