Tuesday, June 25, 2013

New Paintings By Richard Timperio



Recently I had the opportunity to stop by Sideshow Gallery in Williamsburg to view the latest work by Richard Timperio

Timperio, who also owns and runs Sideshow, is taking advantage of a break in the gallery's exhibition season to get a different take on these new, large paintings outside the confines of his smaller studio.
The acrylic on canvas pieces take full advantage of the gallery's two large rooms and are allowed to fill up the space in the same way they expand in the viewer's mind.

The work imparts a Matisse-ian revelry in color but the way the paint is applied alludes to an attitude more akin to Paul Klee's idea of serious play. While it's apparent that Timperio does enjoy his work, the viewer can't help but be struck buy the craftsmanship and improvisational puzzle solving that inform the artist's decisions. The subtle and bold applications of paint combine with offbeat color choices in each piece to  produce a  profoundly playful new body of work.



The artist looking out onto Bedford Avenue @ Sideshow Gallery in Williamsburg, 2013.







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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Paul Edwards: Obsessive Expressionist











This post presents the work of the expressionistic, figurative painter, Paul Edwards.

Edwards was born in Detroit, but has spent a good portion of his life in the South; primarily Mississippi and Tennessee. After serving in Vietnam (for which he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star), Edwards attended the Art Academy in Memphis (now the Memphis College of Art) and eventually went on to earn an MFA from Yale University. He graduated from Yale in the same class as  John Currin, Sean Landers and other notables. After school he moved from New Haven, CT to New York where he drove a cab and taught a color theory class at the School of Visual Arts. During this time he had success with regular showings at the Alan Stone Gallery in Manhattan before moving to California for a brief period.

Since then Edwards has spent most of his time in the deep South living in makeshift studios in derelict buildings and garages. Edwards recently built his own house and studio from reclaimed materials on a friend's land in Mississippi and currently resides there.

Edwards' work is characterized by a unique, expressive depiction of the figure and an eye for detail, all locked within compositions that are violent and lyrical all at once. Generally, he employs a limited color palette that establishes mood while his obsessive drawing and mark making  provide an anxious counterpoint that bears the weight of his dramatic narratives.

Earlier subjects included street scenes and observed environmental motifs or highly personal takes on mythological and religious tales. More recent works tend to depict a lone protagonist struggling against insurmountable odds, as in his exhaustive explorations of  Bull Fighters and Lion Tamers.







Custer's Last Stand, 72 x 79 in.



Corner of the Tailor's Shop



The Last Supper



The Last Supper (Exxon)



72 x 79 in. 



In the Tailor's Shop



Soldiers (Vietnam Scene), 72 x 79 in.



Subway Scene



Bull Fighter Series



Bull Fighter Series



The Bull Fighter, 60 x 60 in.



Humpty Dumpty, 72 x 79 in.



Noah's Ark (unfinished),79 x 84 in.



Deposition from the Cross



Saint George and the Dragon, 72 x 79 in.



The Tailor's Shop



Subway Scene (Lorimer St.)



Pond in New Haven



 Lion Tamer Series



 Lion Tamer Series



The Lion Tamer, 72 x 79 in.



The Lion Tamer (detail of above)



 Bull Fighter Series



 Bull Fighter Series



Paul Edwards, at his home in Mississippi, 2012
photo: Paul Behnke





*Images of paintings are courtesy of the artist. All images ©Paul Edwards except for the artist's portrait ©Paul Behnke 2013.
**Titles are attributed by the blog author and are purely descriptive. 
***Sizes of works are approximations.