Bender Gallery is pleased to present Common Ground, a solo exhibition of new works by Asheville-based artist Linda Gritta, on view from June 5 through June 27. An opening reception will be held on Friday, June 5 from 5 – 8 PM.
In a moment defined by division and the relentless churn of news and social media, Common Ground offers a space of visual refuge. Gritta’s paintings resist narrative certainty, instead inviting viewers into a shared experience rooted in color, gesture, and sensation. Her work proposes that connection can be found not through argument or explanation, but through the universal language of painting itself.
Gritta’s compositions are built through rich layers and gradations of color, where hues interact in dynamic tension—pushing and pulling across the surface. Fields of luminous color converge with gestural marks and subtle structural elements. Within these painterly environments, fleeting suggestions of landscape and figuration emerge, only to dissolve again into abstraction.
“Painting is its own language,” Gritta explains. “It isn’t meant to be translated into words, but into feeling. One can speak poetry just by arranging colors well.”
This philosophy is evident throughout the exhibition. Gritta embraces the physicality and immediacy of paint—its movement, density, and capacity for transformation. Geometric scaffolds intersect with organic forms; passages of light and dark create depth and atmosphere; and each surface carries the history of its making. The works do not prescribe meaning, but instead create space for reflection, where viewers can locate their own emotional responses.
Common Ground centers on the idea of shared experience. Through abstraction, Gritta strips away the specifics that often divide us, leaving behind something more essential: the capacity to feel, to see, and to connect.
Originally from Chicago, Linda Gritta lives and works in the mountains of North Carolina, where the natural landscape informs her vibrant exploration of color. She earned her BFA from Converse College and furthered her studies at the New York Studio School. Her work has been featured in Our State and House Beautiful and is held in private and corporate collections worldwide.
Bender Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery exhibiting national and international artists in downtown Asheville, NC. For additional information, images, or press inquiries, please contact Bender Gallery at info@bendergallery.com or 828-505-8341