Crown Point Press presents Autumn: the rhythm of everyday life, a fall group exhibition showcasing works by artists Anne Appleby, Robert Bechtle, Per Kirkeby, Gay Outlaw, Markus Raetz, Wayne Thiebaud, Patricia Treib, Rupy C. Tut, Richard Tuttle, and Charline von Heyl. Autumn: the rhythm of everyday life looks at the nature of the autumn season as a time to fall back into the routine of daily life. The term for the season “fall” dates back to the 17th century, and was popularized from the phrase, “fall of the leaves.” This phrase evokes the image of a leaf drifting from a bough of a tree, in no hurry at all, taking its time to reach the ground. Behind this simple act lies a complex system at work, yet it appears effortless and is a part of the tree’s lifecycle. Returning to a routine may simplify life, and within that steadiness lies the space to explore and uncover beauty hidden in the everyday.

Slow-looking and careful observation of her surroundings plays a vital role in the studio practice of artist Anne Appleby. Before Appleby arrived at the Crown Point Press studio, she spent time in the Montana landscape, studying the changes of the trees and plants around her over time. In her etching, Quaking Aspen, the layers of color shift in accordance with the lifecycle of the aspen tree. She created Quaking Aspen with extreme consideration, and used “sixteen copper plates, four layered in each square, each plate carrying a thin film of a different precisely formulated color,” (Kathan Brown, Overview, 2012). Through this process, she allows the viewer to share a glimpse into her daily meditations in the landscape.

Wayne Thiebaud created the three prints on view in this exhibition at the Crown Point Press studio in 2019. This was his final project at the press, right before his centennial. At 100 years old, Thiebaud delighted in the rhythm of predictability; he had been making art in some form for almost the entirety of his life, and had created etchings at Crown Point for over 50 years. Mountain lake, along with his two other prints in the exhibition, shows a literal and metaphorical reflection. On first glance, these black and white etchings appear modest compared to his colorful cakes and desserts, but upon closer inspection, the viewer will note the varying intensity of each line and detect the slight contrast between the mountain and its reflection.

No one was more familiar with routine than the artist Robert Bechtle, who spent much of his life observing and painting the streets of his beloved hometown, San Francisco. Comfortable with working slowly and subtle progress, Bechtle made one mark at a time, developing his paintings to the point where he would only finish two to three in a year. A very disciplined artist, Bechtle, whom many considered a photo-realist, walked around his neighborhood and took photographs of daily scenes which he used as inspiration for his work. The beauty that emerges from Bechtle’s countless hours dedicated to routine is the distinctive light he captured—more a feeling than a mere observation. It transports the viewer to that exact moment. Only through this quiet, persistent practice could Bechtle shape the slopes and shadows of ordinary streets—like those in his etching, Potrero houses - Pennsylvania avenue—and conjure imagery that settles gently into memory.