I was able to pick up a copy of the press release, which while it helped to jog certain bits of my memory didn't do much for my appreciation of the paintings.

Possessing threatening and enticing elements, these images of rock fissures, ice formations, caves, mines and tunnels generate dualistic impulses of uncertainty and excitement - risk and wonderment. The journey Freeman takes us on candidly reveals an ongoing cycle that challenges our perception and human experience to see far beyond the surface and discover other haunting profound elements.

Umm, not to belabor the obvious but I think it is a bit over the top. From my perspective, it seems to me that Ms. Freeman either wants to be a spelunker, or is a spelunker. And it is ok to be obsessed by small dark and damp spaces, just make sure that your batteries are fully charged and that you don't use breadcrumbs as a means to mark your route.

But, back to the paintings. My two favorites are the fourth one, the mine on a white-ish background, and the first one (the greenish yellow one). Both of them have a focal point that is off center, which is always the case in Ms. Freeman's paintings, but with these two, she is slightly closer to the center of the canvas. I would have to go back to Wilder and Davis and measure every last painting in order to figure out if these two are the only ones that are "slightly" off-center but you can see in the tunnel and the ice that your eye is drawn to almost at the edge of the canvas. Other than that, I can't really find any other similarities between the two of them or any differences from the others that would explain why they rock.