Sikkema Malloy Jenkins is pleased to present The sum of its parts, a solo exhibition of paintings by Brenda Goodman, on view from February 12 through March 21, 2026.

For nearly sixty years, Brenda Goodman has created deeply expressive works at the intersection of abstraction and figuration. Her practice is guided by a relentless drive to experiment, wielding the formal qualities of paint—tactile impasto, gauzy veils of color, and built-up surface textures—to conjure realms of psychological confrontation and physical expression.

The works on view in The sum of its parts span the 1970s to the present day. The race (1973), a large-scale oil painting from early in Goodman’s career, depicts a central triangular figure affixed with paintbrushes in place of arms and legs. Scrawling—walking—across a canvas laid out on the floor, the bulbous figure evinces a vulnerability rooted in the human desire to create, express, and communicate. Alongside The race are several studio paintings from 2023 and a recent series of drawings depicting a collection of treasured objects and artworks housed in a corner of Goodman’s living room. Drawn from life while the artist recovered from a hand injury at home, Goodman’s drawings balance narrative interiority with intricate spatial arrangements and a newfound lightness of medium.

The second gallery presents a group of oil paintings on wood created within the past two years. These abstract works feature vibrant, geometric configurations interspersed with dimensional forms and varying textural fields. Diminutive quotations of earlier paintings, such as the mosaic-like fragments nestled within Beyond my dreams (2025) and Who knows what (2025), act as portals to other dimensions, or entry points into the larger, ever-evolving chronology of Goodman’s practice. The sum of its parts places these artistic shifts and intimacies in conversation with one another, united by Goodman’s enduring sense of material, form, and space.