Beach-goers and surfers look out to sea and a small group of people gather as if for a memorial while an artist at work on his beach chair records it all in an intriguingly mysterious 22’ painting by Bo Bartlett at Miles McEnery Gallery. The same tone permeates this painting of a young person pausing in the innocent pastime of stone skipping, perhaps to notice two girls walk by or, more ominously, to gaze out at a smoking blaze on the horizon. Warm sand and blue skies belie the watchfulness and foreboding of Bartlett’s new work, suggesting the impending end of an idyll. (On view through March 15th).
