Echo of A Superstore

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Comment by Resident Curator on August 20, 2015 at 10:44am

Curator’s Comments:   

 

On first viewing, many of these intricate watercolors presume to depict the beauty of life and decay within a faintly nostalgic setting.  Some others delve considerably deeper into this process of deterioration and erosion within a framework of commerce and consumer material goods, such as Echo of a Superstore.  While the discarded signage and lettering stand out as hard edged, man-made elements within a natural surround, the gradual envelopment of the plants and vines cleverly places them in roles of strange fruit punctuating the greenery.   But the reddish color of the block letters also reflects some of the warmer tones in the picture’s palette, visually connecting them to the space and overgrown environment. The play of filtered light on the ground creates delicate patterns that both assist and detract in the viewer’s attempt to separate out and identify the disparate pieces. Jeanette’s Failed Exercise Attempt is for me one of the more enigmatic compositions, as the title adds further mystery to the strange juxtapositions of objects.  The leaning doors and pieces of wooden pallets deny deeper entry into the pictorial space, while the figure on the left anchors their visual weight and holds our gaze.  The inclusion of the static exercise bike and bust among architectural forms is somewhat humorous as well.  Without having more clues as to their previous relationships, the objects here all appear to be abandoned, but arranged for some greater purpose.