Three distinct yet stimulating exhibitions are on display in the Phillips Gallery through Feb. 11:

• In the Main Gallery are narrative paintings by Heather Barron.

• Also in the Main Gallery are nearly two dozen works of letterpress art created by Susan Makov, Pat Eddington, Christopher Stern, Peder Singleton and Ben Webster.

• In the Dibble Gallery downstairs, visitors will encounter the spacious landscapes of Mark Knudsen.

Born in England, but a resident of Utah now for 14 years, Barron was trained as a photographer. Recently she has felt compelled to paint, adopting stylized female forms to convey her message.

The women in Barron's paintings all have the same eyes, the same nose, mouth and neck, the same complexion and expression. And while this could breed visual monotony, the redundancy of features is intentional and eventually makes for a successful piece when coupled with the color, composition and surface texture of the work.

Most of her subjects stare straight ahead, forcing viewers to confront their often melancholy, almost haunted, features. And there is something familiar about these

Modiglianiesque females — a breath of a Kershisnik mother, a sigh of a Udall Bennion daughter: Barron has been influenced, but it has not hampered the development of her own style.

And while the painting surface of Barron's work is matte — and occasionally plagued by a dull color — viewers will be intrigued, as well as pleased, by how easily their eyes are embraced and swayed by the completed image. Two pieces in the exhibit that particularly impress are "Joe II" and "Not Alone." The inclusion of collage — torn, ragged images from magazines — with her acrylic and oil media, pushes the canvas surface and the pieces to a new level.

Directly across from Barron's paintings, on the west wall and in various other places inside the gallery, visitors will encounter over two-dozen works of letterpress art.

There is nothing in the visual arts world that excites the eye quite like a delicate yet energetic, colorful, crisp and precisely registered letterpress print. Whether the image is a mere 1-inch square or two feet across, whether it has one color or 50, letterpress art gives viewers a sense that all is right with the visual universe.

Letterpress art is a limited-edition print produced on a letterpress machine (e.g. a clamshell or flatbed press). Typically, it combines text and imagery but can be confined to either element. Text is often handset lead letters but can incorporate more modern photographic processes that transfer the text onto metal plates for printing. Imagery is either produced via linocut, woodblock prints or the previously mentioned photographic method.

In the letterpress exhibit, viewers will find themselves stopping in front of every print to ogle and smile; every piece is that good, but "MYTI GOOD" by Chris Stern is very impressive and positively fun.

The Dibble gallery downstairs introduces visitors to the tightly rendered, contemporary landscapes of Mark Knudsen. The works are displayed in a horizontal swath that gives the show a narrative appearance. As viewers walk along, studying each well-crafted painting, the vast, horizontal works begin to emulate the reading of a book or a nature documentary.

It is a pleasing experience.

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