An established local artist who’s also a frequent exhibitor, curator and educator, Pat Moberley Moore has spent the past few years in close collaboration with two fellow female artists, a painter and a musician. It’s no wonder, then, that she found a theme in feminine spirituality. The resulting series, called “Spirit of Woman,” is now on view at Thornwood Gallery and mostly features elegant female figures in bronze, clay and marble. But these are hardly sedate busts: Moberley Moore’s women all seem to be in the throes of some powerful state, whether it’s rapture, creativity or meditation. Their faces and upper torsos are finely wrought and detailed, but by and large their bodies meld into a solid mass, as though they’re escaping themselves — or maybe they’re more grounded than ever.

Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Aug. 22. Continues through Aug. 31

This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2007.