Never much more than a foot high, Quentin James McCaffrey’s small paintings at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery encourage viewers to draw close and peer into imagined domestic interiors that act as portals into other times and places. Here, ‘Mirror with a View’ presents us with a mirror (or is it a painting of a mirror’s reflection?) that reflects not us but a view of a landscape through a door, a painting of clouds on the domed ceiling and four paintings that lead the eye into other landscapes. Though McCaffrey offers a profusion of exits via paintings, ceiling and door, the diminutive size of each limits our fantasy escape, instead underscoring the tantalizing possibilities of illusion. (On view through July 7th).
