“GREEN FIRE ESCAPE”: This watercolor on paper work by Mark Oliver is featured in “Available Light,” on view at the David Scott Gallery in the offices of Berkshire Hathaway, 253 Nassau Street, through December 31. An artist reception is on Saturday, October 19 from 2 to 5 p.m.

David Scott Gallery, 253 Nassau Street, now presents its latest exhibition, “Available Light,” a collection of paintings by New York architect and artist Mark Oliver. Recently named one of the top 100 watercolor artists in the U.S., Oliver’s paintings have appeared in TV shows such as Billions, Ray Donovan, and Gossip Girls. The exhibition runs through the end of the year. An artist reception is on Saturday, October 19 from 2 to 5 p.m.

As a student of architecture at Westminster University, London, Oliver learned something that would become an integral part of his design aesthetic. “We were taught that natural light is the most important element of architecture,” he said. “We had to use it to shape and define, to blur and shade.”

Now retired from architecture, Oliver, the painter, still holds a passion for depicting light and its interaction with the constructed environment of cities and the buildings that occupy them. Facades are bathed in natural light, illuminating bold colors graphically defined by strong architectural lines and shadows. He brings viewers closer in to examine characteristic details, such as fire escapes, windows, and doors, then pulls back to a more macro view of structures in their composed relation to each other. His work goes further, celebrating the quaint charm and character of more everyday urban settings, such as the downtowns and residential streets of New Jersey, Brooklyn, N.Y., and parts of Europe.

Viewing these paintings, one might draw some parallels to Edward Hopper, recognizing that he and Oliver are equally enamored with representing light, color, and the urban setting. But Oliver’s stylistic vocabulary reaches well beyond that. He approaches abstraction with a more graphic approach to some of his watercolor compositions, while his canvases offer a somewhat more playful, pop sensibility. As a skilled architectural draughtsman, his pen and ink illustrations of street scenes and cityscapes are alive, deftly sketched with his very individual hand, the line of his pen imbuing buildings, objects and people with motion and vibrancy.

Oliver paints in his home studio in Lambertville, where he has resided since 2021. He is a graduate of Westminster University, London, and Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. His work has been featured in solo and group shows in the U.K. and U.S., and is in private collections in the U.K., Switzerland, Italy, and the U.S.

David Scott Gallery, located in the offices of Berkshire Hathaway, is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sales and other inquiries may be directed to gallery director and curator David Scott at davidscottfineart@gmail.com. Follow the gallery’s Instagram page @davidscottgallery.bhhsfoxroach.