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Adolescent Humor and Real Artby Cynnie Gaasch |
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The artist’s statement accompanying A.J. Fries’ exhibition of new paintings at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center does not give reason enough for his art to take the form of paintings. Nor do the paintings themselves. As the artist describes, “the work is not about the objects represented; they concern the relationships between them…I may like the way the names of the two things sound together…”
It is not entirely clear why A.J. Fries paints his artwork. Why make paintings four feet tall, and sometimes four or 12 feet across with one or two objects depicted? Why can’t this be done through poetry, photography or small collages?
The answer is not all that clear. Many of the paintings are dry and flat with pretty straightforward coloring. It may be clear as to what he is depicting, but it is not always accurate. A stuffed sheep has little feeling, as does the sheep’s skull in the adjacent panel in “Sheep.” Mostly, the work is about the words and the connotations they bring to mind. “Breast Pumps and Crazy Straws” is a good example, where the objects themselves look like basic geometric studies and practiced curlicues presented in unsubstantial compositions. The content and the one-liner (which is what most of these works are about) is in the title. You see this painting is about things that “suck.” In more ways than one, I might add.
The reason for these paintings finally reveals itself around the edges of two panels—one in the soft brushwork of the left-hand panel of “White Cotton Panties and The Denny’s Grand Slam Breakfast.” (It is really difficult not to imagine the artist saying something like, “which would you rather have for breakfast?” in relationship to this piece.) But the care the panties are given and the delicate brush strokes of delicate white on a pinkish background on the panty side of this painting shows us the true heart of this painter, a self-proclaimed fan of the minimalist artist, Ellsworth Kelly. Similarly, the drippy, grueling brown in the background of the right panel of “My Parents Smile” shows an artist whose true love is paint and what paint can look like. So, I wonder, when is he going to cast aside the adolescent jokes and jump in full-tilt with his love for what paint can do?
The one painting in the show that hints at where Fries could take on real depth of content is “Endless Baby Column.” In this painting, which is only about two feet wide but climbs to eight feet high, he stacks images of a baby he knows, carefully showing the variety of movements and expressions that come out of a six-month old boy. The color is a little weird—the child’s skin looking too orange, but the care for the infant is evident in the careful depiction and attention to detail in this work.
Fries’ exhibit is paired with a show of furniture by Taeyoul Ryu in the Burchfield-Penney Art Center’s new series of exhibitions, “24/12.” This endeavor will bring us solo exhibits by 24 artists in the next 12 months. Ms. Ryu’s furniture is sophisticated and elegant, like sculpture with carefully considered surfaces and forms. “Sound Wave” is a gorgeous bench / coffee table that has a compact waving form holding up a solid table top, in light wood. A stool or podium titled “Fire and Light” combines two kinds of wood surfaces in off-center, biomorphic forms. The piece is quietly humorous, and could sit atop a sculpture pedestal as is.
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Issue Navigation> Issue Index > v4n44: Permanence and Change (11/2/05) > Adolescent Humor and Real Art This Week's Issue • Artvoice Daily • Artvoice TV • Events Calendar • Classifieds |
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