The Anna Zorina Gallery in Chelsea
is currently presenting an intriguing group exhibition of work by Bradley Hart,
Alexander Kaletski, Micha Patiniott, and Hans Scheib for the show FACES.
The works that these four artists
offer explore the depths of portraiture through several drawings, paintings,
and sculptures. Each artist applies his own unique approach with the same
dedicated curiosity and insight about the subjects.
Micha Patiniott’s offers oil
paintings that have many contrasting themes, therefore leaving them open to
different interpretations. One of his most intriguing works in the show is an
oil on canvas painting titled Five
Pencils, which emphasizes a woman’s face with her head being much larger
than her body. This woman is presumably an artist, as her golden hair is tied
in a bun with three colored pencils sticking out, as she holds a green pencil
in her mouth and a red one in her hand. One of her olive colored eyes is opened
wider than the other and there’s a rose colored spot on one of her cheeks
that’s shaped like a heart.
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| "Five Pencils" (2014) by Micha Patiniott |
Bradley Hart’s style is quite original; he begins his
process by filling syringes with acrylic paint. He then fills the individual bubbles with specific colors, and then
the bubble wrap is transformed into an image that references digital
photography such as in the image Jeremy (Injection) where a woman can be
seen with dark-rimmed glasses and her eyes wide open with a surprised
expression on her face. The
excess paint that drips down from the injection point dries and is carefully
peeled from the back of the bubble wrap. Hart uses this to create the Impression series works, such as
in the image Sara (Impression) which portrays a woman with platinum blonde hair and plump,
dark red lips staring directly at the camera.
Since moving to New York City from
Russia 40 years ago, Alexander Kaletski began observing the different
characters he encountered and began painting their portraits on materials such
as cardboard boxes and burlap. One of his most notable works in the show is a mixed
media on canvas piece called Beauty in
the Box that has a mostly white background with lavender and turquoise
splotches and newspaper clippings. Its focal point is the face of a woman with
plump lips, curly hair, and her right eye is raised wider than her left with
splotches of paint presumably representing mascara dripping down.
Hans Scheib brings a special
sensuality to his wooden sculptures by giving each figure its own personality
through his use of color and form. For instance, Head of a Young Man is a mahogany wooden piece depicting a man from
the chest up. He has a somewhat surprised expression on his face, as he appears
to be staring at someone or something with wide open eyes, and has very thick
hair in a rounded shape rising from his head.
At the Anna Zorina Gallery, 533 W. 23rd St.,
through Feb. 21. The gallery is open Tues.—Sat. from 10 a.m.—6 p.m.
