The isolation of a village is captured in blocks of high intensity, contiguous colors. The simplicity of a lifestyle is contained in the contrast between geometric structures and freehand improvisation.

At times, Shedden seems intent on condensing the experience of an entire culture into the shape of a doorjamb and lintel. Her work, taken as a whole, embodies the modern compulsion toward economy of means: the process of abstraction itself.

And with the abstraction of form, the artist's intention resides increasingly in the means used to express it. Shedden's best work is about compositional balance and integration. The clearly defined planes of her landscapes are integrated through the rhythmic repetition of color and line. And the particular energy of her more abstract work lies in the way the artist establishes formal tensions which are resolved on the surface of the picture.

Edie Shedden, who owned the Oxford Gallery from 1972 through 1985, has exhibited her work extensively throughout New York and New England. Her work is included in the collections of the Memorial Art Gallery, Gannett Corporation, Xerox Corporation, and Eastman Kodak, along with many other local banks and institutions. She lives in Brighton with her husband. They spend several months each year at their homes in Cape Cod and Mexico.