I recently heard from a friend about a show based on Homer’s Odyssey that she said I just “had to see”. Before venturing out to see it for myself, I figured I should do some re-reading to refresh my memory from high school, which was longer ago than I care to think about. What I remembered was how much I was not a fan of the epic story, but figured that being the visual person I was, maybe seeing it as a collection of art would bring new life to the story for me. I was unfortunately unimpressed by the series and the passages that had been chosen to illustrate, but as I was walking out of the gallery that had this work, some paintings in the adjacent gallery caught my eye. The artist is Richmond Garrick and though there were only five of his paintings hanging, I couldn’t stop looking at them.
The work that was on the facing wall as you enter the gallery (pictured second above) was the largest of the five pieces and immediately drew you into the work. His style of paint application uses wide, expressive brushstrokes with thick layers of paint that don’t translate well in photographs. The thickness in some areas more closely resembled a relief surface than a painted surface. The subjects of the paintings were not titled with names, but all are obviously of people, even in the most obscured ones, figures and faces were fairly easy to discern. This particular piece, titled Resistance , I approached with a feeling of urgent empathy. It was as if I was approaching someone in pain or in need of assistance. I am not positive if it was due to the size or just the fact that the expression of the figure was so clear, but I quickly realized that who the person was was not important. What Garrick was trying to express was the experience and the emotion of the moment.
In one of the smaller pieces, Vulnerable(top) , it is definitely more difficult to make out the scene and what feeling or moment Garrick is trying to portray. Using the title as a basis for delving further into the painting didn’t help much in this case. We have all experienced vulnerability and know what that feels like, but there are many situations that make us feel vulnerable and what was happening to this person seemed to be more than that. This continued to peak my interest as I continued around the room. Not only was this image the least detailed, but the title guaranteed that it stayed that way. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I were invading this person’s privacy or space in some way. Whether or not this is what was intended by the artist, I may never know, but it was amazing how vulnerable I was becoming to the emotions evoked by each piece.
On my way out of the gallery, there was some literature about Garrick. The title was Expression of Oppression, A Metaphor for the Unthinkable. Having been inspired by an African American Heritage project of his daughters, Garrick completed some detailed portraits of Civil Rights heroes such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, but the paintings seem to come from a much deeper place. A place where we react to the conflict and oppression that still exist and are even tolerated in the world. A place where “out of sight, out of mind” cannot be used to allow us to pretend it doesn’t exist. Garrick’s paintings make those feelings real and bring you face to face with tormented expressions on the faces of his subjects.
To me, though in a less specific way, the work of Garrick is similar to that of Goya. He may not be painting a detailed eye witness-like view of a battle or conflict, but has certainly documented the emotions and effects of war, oppression and the unthinkable in a way that the viewer doesn't just "see" it, but experiences it for themselves.
The work that was on the facing wall as you enter the gallery (pictured second above) was the largest of the five pieces and immediately drew you into the work. His style of paint application uses wide, expressive brushstrokes with thick layers of paint that don’t translate well in photographs. The thickness in some areas more closely resembled a relief surface than a painted surface. The subjects of the paintings were not titled with names, but all are obviously of people, even in the most obscured ones, figures and faces were fairly easy to discern. This particular piece, titled Resistance , I approached with a feeling of urgent empathy. It was as if I was approaching someone in pain or in need of assistance. I am not positive if it was due to the size or just the fact that the expression of the figure was so clear, but I quickly realized that who the person was was not important. What Garrick was trying to express was the experience and the emotion of the moment.
In one of the smaller pieces, Vulnerable(top) , it is definitely more difficult to make out the scene and what feeling or moment Garrick is trying to portray. Using the title as a basis for delving further into the painting didn’t help much in this case. We have all experienced vulnerability and know what that feels like, but there are many situations that make us feel vulnerable and what was happening to this person seemed to be more than that. This continued to peak my interest as I continued around the room. Not only was this image the least detailed, but the title guaranteed that it stayed that way. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I were invading this person’s privacy or space in some way. Whether or not this is what was intended by the artist, I may never know, but it was amazing how vulnerable I was becoming to the emotions evoked by each piece.
On my way out of the gallery, there was some literature about Garrick. The title was Expression of Oppression, A Metaphor for the Unthinkable. Having been inspired by an African American Heritage project of his daughters, Garrick completed some detailed portraits of Civil Rights heroes such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, but the paintings seem to come from a much deeper place. A place where we react to the conflict and oppression that still exist and are even tolerated in the world. A place where “out of sight, out of mind” cannot be used to allow us to pretend it doesn’t exist. Garrick’s paintings make those feelings real and bring you face to face with tormented expressions on the faces of his subjects.
To me, though in a less specific way, the work of Garrick is similar to that of Goya. He may not be painting a detailed eye witness-like view of a battle or conflict, but has certainly documented the emotions and effects of war, oppression and the unthinkable in a way that the viewer doesn't just "see" it, but experiences it for themselves.
Note: Other artists with similar work in theme and style - Sheba Sharrow www.shebasharrow.com
