It Looks Different From This Angle
It Looks Different From This Angle
Curated by Mia Nielsen
Jay Isaac . Jason Kroenwald . Susy Oliviera . James Olley . Derek Sullivan
Judging by exhibits in Toronto galleries as well as those further afield, it seems genre painting is alive and well in the 21st century. Interesting since these themes: portrait, landscape, still life were formalized centuries ago. These themes flourish in the hands of contemporary painters, perhaps because the treatment of these subjects continues to evolve. At one time the medium was there to deliver the message - a picture of a beautiful girl, a stormy sea or a vase of flowers. In the current remix, the medium is the message itself, where pristine realism gives way to luscious pigment.
This shift away from a pictorial experience may in part explain our lasting fascination with abstraction. It wasn't long ago that an abstract painting was a radical statement, but over the last 5 decades abstraction has evolved into a new genre, one with an iconography of it's own. With these the experience of the medium stands on it's own.
On the surface, image and medium seem to wrestle back and forth, challenging who will take centre stage. It's really the viewer who wins, treated to the lush physicality of paint (or bubble gum, for that matter) and suggestions of landscapes, flowers and figures that call to mind the ideal beauty of another era.
Works in this exhibition were generously loaned by: Angell Gallery, Jessica Bradley Art + Projects, Le Gallery and Paul Petro Contemporary Art.
