Portraits & Such III: Less Portraits, More Such

Solo exhibition at Da Vinci Art Alliance

Philadelphia, PA

March 17th - April 7th 2019

PORTRAITS & SUCH 3 is a show of paintings, drawings, prints, and recent expeditions into shrink plastic (or in the local dialect, shrinky dink). Some works are based strictly in observation, but all are engaged in an ongoing and sometimes fractious dialogue with and about representation, iconography, and authenticity.  Expressed in these pieces are all the misunderstandings, perversions, digressions, fancies and insights that these interactions and wonderings produce.

If I were to point out things that make PORTRAITS & SUCH 3 distinct from my previous 2 shows (other than the dearth of conventional portraits), they would be two. The first is my exploration of composition, design and failure with shrink plastic. Watching my storage area become crowded with large paintings prompted the question of, “How in the heck can I work smaller?” Pondering this, I recalled as a kid making tree decorations from shrink plastic and viola! I took up the challenges of a medium that comes in 8 ½” x 11” sheets and that has a mind of its own when baked. I think it has been a fruitful and and sobering partnership, it directing the work as much as I would, having me reach conclusions I did not expect.

The second distinction is the introduction of the Headless Giant to the population of my allegorical twilight world, which until then had led an idyllic and meandering existence. This figure, which I developed in response to the social and political stresses of our time., is used to describe things in our world which are old as humanity, but have to be recognized and addressed now, and the Headless Giant is a way to embody a terrible force in our world (ourselves?) without attaching them to a specific person or cause.