Through her latest series of paintings, Columbia School of the Arts alumna Jane McClintock (MFA, 1961) encourages people to see things differently, and recognize the beauty of distortion. The series, entitled "New York Reflections: Times Square," was on exhibition at Amos Eno Gallery during October.

McClintock has mastered "reflectionism," depicting mirrored images of historic buildings through painting. Her style is unique in that she focuses on a geographic area and not a particular architecture. Her most recent images capture the vibrant billboards and signage that frame Times Square.

In "The Villager" McClintock said, "New York is so rich in reflections. Other cities in this country—like Dallas—have them, but they're duller, because they don't have older buildings. And in Europe, there are not as much glass buildings. This is a very New York thing… Buildings that are old reflected in the new are interesting."

McClintock begins her creative process by taking pictures at night, when the lights and street life of the city is most alive. Many photographers would cringe at her technique, as McClintock takes photographs out of, or in front of, windows to achieve "reflections." The photos are an important part of her creative process, as she uses them to first sketch and then paint the scene. Often her images are more abstract than representational—a collection of fragments cropped and composed from these photographs.

To help viewers gain a greater appreciation for her work, the Amos Eno Gallery had an album of the photographs corresponding to this series of McClintock's watercolors.

One of McClintock's great talents is the ability to recognize beauty in the distortion of reflections. "What she's working from is already distorted," explained gallery director Jane Harris. "I like the idea of that distortion of the architecture… it's an interesting metaphor for New York in general."

"New York Reflections: Times Square" is the latest in McClintock's series of watercolors that began in 1982. Each instillation of the "New York Reflections" series received a solo exhibit at the Amos Eno Gallery, including: Looking into the Millennium (1997); Twilights (1994); and Nightlights (1992). These works offer reflections seen in the windows and glass facades of well-known New York landmarks, such as the Empire State Building, St. Paul's Chapel, Saint Patrick's Cathedral and the Chrysler Building.

McClintock's work is currently in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York, the Museo de Presepios in Sao Paulo, Brazil and in many corporations.

McClintock's work was part of the "Tenth Annual Columbia Artists Exhibition," in 1994 in Low Rotunda and had solo exhibits in Columbia's Graduate Lounge Exhibit Space in 1982 and 1984.