Naomi Fisher at Home Alone 2

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aomi Fisher’s three colossal canvases here were notable for their magnetism, grandeur, and beauty.

As the show’s title, “Dancarchy,” intimated, ballet was the artist’s inspiration, and each work was an experiment in movement and rhythm.

With wooden ballet bars horizontally affixed to the paintings, the pieces simulated the experience of a ballerina looking into a dance-studio mirror. But rather than literal reflections, Fisher presented viewers with abstract, dreamlike scenes. In each, a pair of long legs with lace-up pointe shoes dominated the canvas, framed by blue, green, red, and purple tangles of swirls and dancing starbursts.

The real joy of Fisher’s kinetic paintings, though, came after several minutes of viewing. Like hidden treasures in an “I Spy” book, small, camouflaged figures and symbols that were not visible at first began to emerge from each composition. In a green-and-aquamarine painting, a topless female figure peeks out in the lower right corner and a jumble of overlapping body parts can be discerned in between the central pair of legs. And in another, a set of handprints appears in the upper left corner, like markings in a cave painting.

Fisher’s fantastical creations rewarded the viewers for their patience—and reminded them that good things take time.

A version of this story originally appeared in the September 2014 issue of ARTnews on page 101.