AFLOAT

San Pablo Community Center Art Exhibitions

2450 Road 20

San Pablo, CA 94806

www.sanpabloca.gov/artexhibits

San Pablo Community Center is pleased to announce the opening of a group exhibition, “Afloat,” a selection of paintings from artists, Eileen Starr Moderbacher and Jamie Treacy, on view in the gallery from June 13 through July 15, 2025. The artists are long time friends and peer mentors having known each other for almost 20 years. They are thrilled to have a first feature exhibition together. 

The title for their show, “Afloat,” is pulled from the literal means of the word; 1. floating in water, not sinking, and 2. out of debt or difficulty, but also points to the Ukiyo-e (The Floating World) artistic movement in Japan, where artists explored the transient nature of life.

With contrasting approaches, bringing together genres of surrealism, abstraction, and narrative, Moderbacher and Treacy share in their unusual color palettes and desire to push the boundaries of painting, in style and with materials. With Moderbacher, her use of water-soluble crayons and for Treacy, his use of oil sticks show their willingness to experiment, bringing linear drawing tools into the painted surface. While the artworks are visually distinct, they also spark an unexpected dialogue, inviting the viewer in to make their own visual comparisons and assessments. 

In their shared devotion to the medium over many years, painting has become a powerful personal practice. There’s surrendering at the start of a painting, not knowing where it will end, and in turn letting the work be our guide. Both are reacting to the marks as they accumulate, formulating a story or fragment of a story as they go. Treacy’s architectural elements give structure to microscopic and unfamiliar worlds where conflicts occur between forces we don’t understand. In Moderbacher’s pieces, which began much more based on a narrative, we see a natural progression. Over the last six years, she has made the shift from one step away to full abstraction. 

As a concept, “Afloat” is particularly relevant in these fraught times. In navigating the turbulence of the current, we are balancing on a wave, trying not to sink into an abyss. These works are attempts at keeping our psyches positive and moving forward. The paintings serve as a breath of air, a breaking through and resurfacing from the depths of the water. In it, viewers can derive pleasure and come away feeling lighter, with a buoyant hopefulness.

Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, June 14th, 2-4pm.