On the Canal

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on October 21, 2019 at 10:38am

Curator’s Comments:

These two new paintings are compelling- thank you for sharing them.  While I have admired your previous photorealistic paintings expanding the microscopic world, On the Canal appears to present a contemporary landscape in larger totality. I also see thematic attention to industrial sites, with an eye towards environmental concerns. While not a diptych, On the Canal is spatially divided into almost equal halves. The gull on the lower left leads the viewer into a rather pristine space on the left side, washed in bright sunlight.  The bird slightly blends into her background with minimal contrast; we assume she is part of her space.  But in contrast, I see the brown water in the stream on the right as a vaguely ominous signal of pollution rather than a simple cast shadow of the factory. The dominant rust hues on the structures on the right give the illusion of melting into the clear water. As the tributary appears to turn in the distance on the horizon, the viewer is actually blocked from exiting the space via the water route, suspending the aesthetic and visual tension between the conflicting halves.  Perhaps my read into this painting is too heavy handed.  The adjacent new piece entitled A New Morning doesn’t directly set industrial progress against nature, other than in the inclusion of construction against a perfect blue sky.