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The New Contemporary Art Magazine
Erin Anderson's paintings of figures on copper plates have a spiritual, almost supernatural, quality about them, but they are by no means idealized portraits. Preferring to capture the real essence of the nude men and women that she paints, her subjects become icons we can more easily relate to, linked together by their glimmering backgrounds. Anderson's art, previously featured here on our blog, employs a dichotomy between the oils and the etched patterns in the cooper, where these separate elements in the individual pieces creates a "system" or flow that unifies the works as a whole.
If you go to see the work of Istvan Orosz, bring a reflective, cylindrical object with you. A master of optics, Orosz creates drawings, etchings, and paintings of what look like distorted blobs when viewing the paper or canvas with the naked eye. Once the mirror is placed on top of the surface, however, coherent images emerge in the reflection. Based in Hungary, Orosz has worked as a set designer and illustrator and even created political posters for the Eastern European pro-democratic movement during the Cold War. Today, the work he creates is open-ended and surreal, focusing on the ways that our vision works and playing with expectations.
Fantastic architectural settings, statuesque-like human figures staged in dramatic poses and a prevailing mood of impending catastrophe; it should come as no surprise that printmaker Victoria Goro-Rapoport began her career in the theater. The recipient of an MFA in set design, Goro-Rapoport was once professionally employed creating backdrops for theatrical dramas. Eventually the artist decided to devote herself fully to her two-dimensional artwork in order to give her imagination completely free reign. In her intricate engravings and etchings, this theatrical background translates into an often dark and moody ambience. Lone figures are silhouetted against tempestuous and overwhelming skies or are caught in the midst of impossible feats, calling to mind Biblical figures, as well as both the heroes and victims of Greek mythology. As with the stage, where the illusions of a play have the power to transport us, so do Goro-Rapoport’s prints create an imaginary universe where the possibilities are seemingly infinite and the actors larger-than-life.