“Body Language,” recent figurative-realist paintings by Emily Strong, continues at The Baum School of Art, Allentown, with a closing reception 6-8 p.m. Oct. 21, David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries.

October’s “Third Thursday” event includes an artist talk by Strong and a presentation by Turning Point of Lehigh Valley.

Strong’s “Gestalt” (2021; Oil on canvas, 60 in. x 72 in.) is one of her larger and bolder figurative landscapes. The artist worked with a male and female model to create a Gordian Knot of arms, legs and hands. As with most of her works, the entangled flesh in this painting cannot be identified by gender.

The artist makes strongly-lit photos of her models. She then works in multiple thin layers to manipulate color, lighting and arrangement while creating her human landscapes.

“I will say that for working from photographs, it does allow me to play with the composition more. It allows me more freedom to really sit with the images and try out different ways of abstracting it even further,” says Strong.

She prefers oils for the “luminous quality,” as well as the ability to work and rework the images since the paint dries slowly.

Strong finds beauty and inspiration with a diversity of body types, unrestricted by age, gender or race. The artist’s “Transformation” (2021; Oil on canvas, 36 in. x 72 in.) is a case in point. “I was so struck with the image and I was so struck with the model’s words, that it just came to me,” she says of her complicated subject which was finished within a week’s time.

Beside the visual stories being presented, Strong interviewed her models and posted their excerpts from their responses alongside the works, either in printed excerpts or QR (Quick Response) codes accessible by smart phone.

“I think that we have a lot to learn from the neurodiversity and the physically diverse community. The ways in which they form thriving mechanisms, not even just survival mechanisms, but the way they are able to make meaning in life,” says the model who posed for “Transformation.”

The couple who posed for “Gestalt” are artists and have a child. Yet each has a distinctive life experience, especially when it comes to gender identity.

Strong is a 2015 Moravian University graduate with a BA in studio art and psychology. While a student at Moravian, Strong began working on what she calls her “Corporeal Landscapes” series.

Strong’s recent work is funded by a 2020 grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation.

The Bethlehem resident works out of her Catasauqua art studio in the historic Dery Mansion. The palace-like building, once home to silk mill mogul George Dery, is being renovated by French restaurateur Herve Rousseau.

Strong is a curator and Baum School employee.

David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries, The Baum School of Art, 510 Linden St., Allentown. Gallery hours 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Tuesday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Closed Sunday. www.baumschool.org; 610-433-0032

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com