“Mason’s canvases first compel our attention with their radiant hues, but they soon insist that we concentrate on subtleties that reveal the history of the painting’s evolution... Mason delights in color and revels in the fluidity of her chosen medium.”

While Mason worked exclusively in oil, she enjoyed experimenting with new paints, oil types, and solvents. If something had a unique translucency or reflective quality that would move the eyes, she wanted to work with it to see how it might be more deliberately incorporated into future compositions. Her mastery of opacity manipulation and her custom arsenal of highly varied paints allowed a certain degree of illusionism in the work that in many compositions suggests the presence of three-dimensional space. However, Mason was not particularly preoccupied with the flatness of the picture plane or with creating a distinct field; her aim was instead to create a unified image that has been described by critic David Ebony as a “shadowless illumination.” The most characteristic examples of Mason’s work offer an intuitive, dreamy quality of something otherworldly.

Mason’s namesake, and a perennial influence in her life and creative work, was Emily Dickinson. Her mother gave her a book of Dickinson poems when she was 12, and from that day, it rarely left her side. Mason believed that the way she painted corresponded with Dickinson’s cadence and observation of nature. Further, many of Dickinson’s specific verses curiously and inadvertently pair with any number of Mason’s paintings, even if matched up at random. Her current retrospective at the Bruce Museum is in fact named for one of her favorite Dickinson poems: She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms.

Existing alongside Mason’s drive in the studio was her nurturing instinct to teach. From 1979 until just before her death, Mason taught art at Hunter College. A lengthy list of contemporary artists credit Mason’s mentorship as a guiding force of their career development. Says one former student of hers, Nari Ward:

“I was fortunate to have Emily Mason as an instructor during my formative years as a young artist. I was enrolled in her beginners painting class, and wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to be an artist. Meeting her at that moment in my life changed everything. Emily always encouraged her students to experiment, and she would often bring in materials for us to work with. Her criteria for success wasn’t only making art, it was helping you find what worked for you. Her method of teaching was radically informed by empathy. Making aesthetic decisions with emotive power while shining a light for others was a part of Emily’s self-assigned rigor, and this humanistic approach undoubtedly fueled her remarkable vision. Over the years Emily became not only a mentor but also a friend. For her, being an artist was about limitless options, and she understood that it meant sometimes breaking the rules.”

Chelsea Paintings will be on view at Miles McEnery Gallery’s 520 West 21st Street space on a walk-in, socially distanced basis in alignment with public health guidelines. Opening hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Walk-in access is subject to change and advance appointments are encouraged.