Review by Michael Neumeister. Curator, Columbia Museum of Art. 2022

“In viewing her recent imaginative and colorful compositions, often depicting abstracted landscapes, one senses that her experience as a welder continually informs her approach to image making. In “Little Boxes 6 (2022),” the artist renders an aerial view of a residential street. Anonymous homes are described by geometric planes of color, fused together at precise angles. Thin bands of blue, grey, and gold leaf denote a roadway, with boxy vehicles parked far apart. The arrangement feels constructed and somehow reminiscent of children’s building blocks, precisely stacked and perceived from an adult’s vantage.

Osmond’s work evokes a sense of wonder, especially in her use of vivid color. At times, her saturated hues offer points of entry for weightier topics. In the SPECTRA series, the artist considers various substances at the quantum level. Interlocking, radial forms denote the molecular structure of a controversial narcotic in “Quiet/Fentanyl (2021);” another painting in the series takes caffeine as its subject, Osmond’s interest ni the principle of non-judgement stimulates a kind of neutrality. These works strip common subjects of their social and political connotations, leaving room for new avenues of reflection.

“Empire (2021)” shows the Atlanta skyline sprawling beneath a dazzling sun. The sun’s rays dominate most of the canvas, swatches of pastel colors. Golden sunlight outlines distant skyscapers while elevated roadways zip through treetops. Some motifs suggest the ethereal imagery of the Swedish Modernist Hilma af Klint (1862- 1944), whose interest in mystical themes mirrors Osmond’s studies of Zen. Both af Klint and Osmondtransliterate views of the external world using introspective processes. In Osmond’s vision, Atlanta appears awash in light and unpeopled, humming with the energy of the sun rather than the human bustle of a major city. We are left to wonder whether the arbitrarily colored atmosphere hints at smog filled air and depleted ozone- and in what matter the painting’s title might reflect its subject.

“New York” depicts another metropolitan center, this time from street level. Osmond uses the dense cityscape to ponder shifting horizon lines, both environmentally and metaphorically. Again, a sun gleams, though here it is partially obstructed by abstract horizontals. A roadway tilts upward into the middle ground and leads us to skyscrapers, monuments of relentless progress.

Works such as “Cycle (2021)” and “Bubble Bubbles Everywhere (2021)” possess a quality reminiscent of The Jetsons, the 1960s cartoon that used the aesthetics of its time to envision the distant future. In those paintings, the artist’s trademark bright colors are supplemented with holographic vinyl, which appears differently colored from different angles. The medium encourages viewers to approach Osmond’s paintings from diverse perspectives- a concept that fundamentally acknowledges the artist’s greater project.”