Silke Otto-Knapp. Land lies in water

Los Angeles–based painter Silke Otto-Knapp is known for her complex, delicate paintings. Working mostly in a black, grey and silver palette, Otto-Knapp's largely monochrome works are studies in the use of light and translucency. Every composition is carefully constructed, and Otto-Knapp's subjects are pioneering women artists, modern dancers, interiors, landscapes, seascapes and avant-garde stage designs. Unlike traditional watercolourists, Otto-Knapp paints on canvas and linen, which allows her to repeatedly wash away and rebuild layers of paint, lending her delicate images a distinctive flatness and luminosity.

For her first major exhibition in North America, the AGO presents approximately 30 of her recent canvases, ranging from barren ocean seascapes to sharply defined silhouettes of modern dancers. Three of Otto-Knapp's paintings, includingSailboat with Moon (2012), will go on display in the AGO's Thomson Collection of Ship Models. The spare simplicity of these canvases stands out boldly in relation to the painstakingly detailed models displayed in the space.

Organized by Art Gallery of Ontario