Amy Rudberg

In the snapshot retrospective "Drawn from Life" at the NAB Gallery, Marion Kryczka, Tom Robinson and Bob Horn showcase their drawings, paintings and mixed media reflecting lifelong fascination with the figure as conceptual art. They pay homage to the NAB tradition of "holding figure drawing workshops for artists to hone their perception and to use drawing as a starting point as well as a point of departure to see what is possible." And what is remarkable about this show is not just the focus on drawing and use of traditional materials, but also a depiction of a "Baroque style"--portraying drama, vitality and movement--filtered with a modern sensibility. This show is an allegory of art as poetry, transformation and social commentary.

Marion Kryczka's series begins with a study in pastel on paper and another in oil on canvas. Kryczka believes that "painting is like poetry because both are filled with symbolism and tell a story." This series is named after the Wallace Steven's poem "Emperor of Ice-Cream," which some have interpreted as life's pleasures and sensualities triumphing over the absoluteness of death. Kryczka begins his story with a chair in the foreground of a dimly lit sitting room, beckoning the viewer to come into his world with a front-row seat. In the background, we see two women in profile, one sitting and the other standing, both looking intently at what appears to be a painting on the wall. There is a bowl of ice cream and wrapped flowers on a long table, dividing the sitting room and the doorway to the kitchen; we can see part of another table in the kitchen and some windows reflecting natural light. We are engaged in a painting that resembles the seventeenth-century Dutch master Pieter de Hooch with the illusion of real perspective, portrayal of natural light and subtle use of color and tone. But, at the same time, the painting also depicts a sense of modernism with its gestural drawings, the mix of realism and abstraction, and the push and pull of intimate, close-up space and receding space. Kryczka draws us deeply into the world of poetry as painting.

Tom Robinson's series, including portraits, mixed-media figures and a video presentation of his models, is "a newer form of art" for the artist. "Hannah" is a larger-than-life-sized portrait, first drawn gesturally with charcoal on paper, then enhanced with Adobe Photoshop, and finally printed on special paper, giving the portrait a lithographic quality. The drawing resembles the real person (seen on the video) but seems to emerge as a character from a Kafkaesque landscape drawn in manga. Her eyes are looking to the side as if she is attempting to peer over her shoulder without moving her head to see if someone is following her. We look closely at her enlarged pupils trying to uncover any hidden images, but there is nothing there except for reflected light. And yet there is something in her expression that is trying to tell us something. She could easily become an anime heroine, with shifting features and flowing hair, or a William Kentridge study of sustained ambiguity. Like "Hannah," Robinson's 3-D mixed-media "Wendy" starts as a portrait drawing with charcoal but the image is miniaturized and put on a ceramic head, which is covered by a light mesh, acting as a veil. The body consists of a torso resting on a plexiglass pole and base. Wendy's smiling face tells us she is quite comfortable with the way things are, and so we let go of the fact that parts of her body are missing. Robinson's drawings enhanced by his use of technology and mixed media engages us with his view of art as transformation.

Bob Horn's series includes large-scale frontal portraitures and smaller drawings of toys and cultural icons, all drawn with charcoal and white pastel on fine-art paper. Horn's "Expulsion from the Garden" brings to mind the early-Renaissance artist Massacio's fresco of Adam and Eve and Michelangelo's "The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden." What is memorable about these paintings is not just the virtuosity of the artists but their ability to project real emotional turmoil in the figures--fear, shame, guilt, sadness and despair. But in Horn's tongue-in-cheek interpretation, the expulsion reveals a Humpty-Dumpty apple figure looking forlornly in the distance, as a bewildered Homer Simpson in his underwear and a smiling "dime-store Barbie" march in single file away to oblivion. In another series, Horn's "Man with Ring" and "Woman with Ring" evoke Rembrandt's use of chiaroscuro (using light and shadow for dramatic effect) and his ability to bring a naturalness to his subjects to highlight their personalities. Horn's realistic style brings to mind the nineteenth-century artist Henri Fantin-latour, who painted traditional portraits in austere, understated compositions. However in Horn's portraits, both the man and woman are wearing rings, not on their fingers, but in their noses. While the young African-American man carries an expression of intelligence, seriousness and wonderment at the same time, the young woman wants us to know what she is truly like--strong, smart, outgoing and playful. Welcome to Bob Horn's world.

"Drawn from Life" shows at NAB Gallery, 1117 West Lake Street, (312)738-1620, through December 30.

(2006-11-14)

Also by Amy Rudberg

Eye Exam
Darrell Roberts is preparing for his one-man show, "Luscious," coming to the Hyde Park Art Center early next year. In his work space, he has photos of downtown construction sites and gardens, small canvases stacked like pancakes, large tubes of oil paints, neon-colored stuffed toys, pipe cleaners forming a 3-D structure, colored paper, patterned ribbon, a seed pod and a piece of cement with pieces of steel rods
(2006-10-24)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment