Artist Mara Held's “El in 16 Notes” is a meditation on variations in pattern caused by differing qualities of light and the creation of overlapping forms and layers. The inspiration for the imagery of the piece was originally derived from cut-out dress patterns. Through the minimal yet elegant shifts in color and pattern that are occasionally pierced by playful curving lines, the work enables the viewer to witness the light and the neighboring skyline as it emerges through the glass planes. Held paid particular attention to the colors and role of natural light to animate and illuminate the work, which graces the platform with light and color. 

Artist Mara Held is known for her meticulous, energetic paintings. Depicting lyrical organic forms in vibrant color, Held incorporates cut stencils to evoke plant life, ancient design motifs, and psychedelic posters. Working from her studio in upstate New York, Held uses her preferred medium of egg tempera to painstakingly build compositions on linen or paper into oscillating mesmerizing designs. Held’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions in New York City and beyond and is in the collections of numerous prominent institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Philips Collection in Washington, D.C.