Outgrown Ketchup

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on July 10, 2011 at 5:52pm

Curator’s Comment:

 

The title Outgrown Ketchup makes me imagine I’ve missed some kind of story, or inside joke.  And there is a subtle humor in this work, much in style of Post War Guston or Dubuffet. The busy, tiny pieces suggest people in houses…trees and architecture….animals and wheels.   I detect but can’t quite pinpoint other influences. The flattening of the space is someone reminiscent of folk art; however I do see a more formal, trained methodology to the colors and composition. Shippin Container Livin or Sonoma County Landscape look more comfortably rooted in the outsider tradition, in their rejection of linear or atmospheric perspective.  But I favor Ketchup because it has the vivacious animation of the other works, but a more beautiful handling of deep reds and creamy whites.  The dark red half circle/crescent on top mirrors the contrasted slice of activity on the bottom, allowing me guided visual passage through the interior gap.  It is a highly enjoyable, humanistic piece.