Samuel Jablon interviews painter Tamara Gonzales on the occasion of her exhibition Winter is Coming at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, on view through December 8, 2014.

Asked about how the "forms relate to the patterns" in her work, Gonzales responds: "Partial abstractions? Non perspective art? While I don’t consider myself a formalist in that my primary concerns are all about a certain color or line doing a certain thing with regards to the other things contained in the picture plane—all those activities are going on in the background when I am painting, and I have a good understanding of color so they are very important considerations. The patterns are like different brushes…a palette of there own. For instance with the lunar skywalkers there is a figure ground relationship and the right foot steps forward. A right footed Kouros emerging from a pattern with a sense that he or she or it can easily dissolve back into the pattern. There is a youthfulness conveyed. Hopefully a playfulness too. Within the context of Winter is Coming I like to think of the sound fresh snow crunching underfoot."