Real Eyezations
By Tom Wachunas
EXHIBIT: Landscapes of the Other Realms / Encounter new worlds from the minds of
contemporary sci/fi visionaries as they transport you to other-worldly realms,
with works by nationally and internationally known artists including Jody
Fallon, Allen Panakal, Matt Mrowka, Steve Ehret, Armand Cabrera, Bob Eggleton,
and Kristin Kest / at IKON IMAGES: The
Illustration Gallery, 221 Fifth Street NW in downtown Canton, Ohio, THROUGH
OCTOBER 12, 2018 /
Click on this link to see works in the exhibit:
Here in 2018, determining what is most excellent
or compelling in the art of painting can be a downright quixotic endeavor.
Think of this postmodern era’s
aesthetics as a vast ideological landscape dotted – or littered, depending upon
your perspective – with theories, philosophies, -isms and trends that can
either command lasting affections or be
as fleeting as smoke from a dying fire. I think it fair to say that all of them are driven by an often
desperate yearning to identify relevant meaning and purpose in art.
These days, for
better or worse, more and more folks seem to want the artful products of their
yearning to be entertaining in the same way a blockbuster film might
convincingly transport us to otherworldly times and places. Ahh, the eternal
allure of illusion. Or delusion?
Contexts, subtexts,
and pretexts in the realm of contemporary painting can be like so many
windmills, some spinning smoothly in the friendly zephyrs of sleek representational
imagery, others spasmodic in the rarefied air of painterly abstraction. I’ve
tilted at both – finding that the former can be really beautiful, the latter
really sublime.
In boldly going where many have gone before,
this exhibit at Ikon Images is nevertheless a very entertaining pastiche of fantasy
art and sci-fi illustration. That said, the paintings I find most enthralling –
particularly those by Matt Mrowka, Aaron Miller, Steve Ehret, and Armand
Cabrera - are those which don’t disguise their paintedness. In varying degrees they breathe with presence
of the artist’s hand, the physicality of pigments, the tactile traces of the
moving brush, the choreography of colors thick and thin, pushed and pulled. Their
iconography may be ‘otherwordly’ but their materiality is of the moment, our
here and now. Two worlds, conjoined.
And so it is that
in the spirit of different-strokes-for-different- folks, I leave you with the
following quotes. You may or may not agree with the perspectives they offer. In
any case, as you tilt with this exhibit, consider them as grist to the mill of
your looking.
“Realism and abstractionism
are not enemies. They eat out of the same dish, but their digestive systems are
different.” - Leo Stein
“Realistic work can
be just as abstract as the 'abstract' work... It's just covered by camouflage.” -Janet Toney
“Interesting is when one can produce a
picture that is pretty, but with undercurrents. The metaphor that comes to mind
is in the poems of Robert Frost.” -
Jamie Wyeth
“realism, n. The art of depicting nature as
it is seen by toads. The charm suffusing a landscape painted by a mole, or a
story written by a measuring-worm.”
- Ambrose Bierce
“Photo-realistic painting is to
impressionism what a ballroom waltz is to Argentine tango. Once you've done
tango, the waltz seems stilted, controlled and oh so dull. Give me the passion,
the sexiness and the bravura of the tango, thank you very much.” - Brenda Behr
“Any number of holier-than-thou honorable
realists walk around in the belief that they have accomplished something,
simply because they tell you for the hundredth time that a field is green and a
red-painted house is painted red.” -
Edvard Munch
“Representational painting doesn't need a
social or political subtext to be important or to be appreciated.” - Jeremy Lipking
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory.
If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to
escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of
liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us
as we can!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
PHOTOS, from top: 1. Dragon
of Red Rock Canyon, by Aaron Miller, oil on board / 2. The Adventurers, by
Armand Cabrera, oil on board / 3. Galway Road, by Matt Mrowka, oil on
Masonite / 4. Thaw the Scarecrows, by Matt Mrowka, oil on Masonite / 5. Wild,
by Steve Ehret, oil on canvas / 6. Grey Matters, by Steve Ehret, oil on
canvas
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