Realism and the Body Beautiful

A Deal With The First Devil You Came Across (2011) by Jeff Ramirez

Last December, Thinkspace gallery exhibited a show called "The New Realism" which displayed a group of six artists including Aaron Nagel, Jeff Ramirez, and Jennifer Nehrbass. Well, they have a current show going on which again features these three artists. And, if you missed the December show, you have another opportunity to admire the fine figural realism of these artists.

I've written about Jeff Ramirez's work before at a show last May. His paintings still contain a powerful mix of highly detailed realism blended with obscurity or inscrutability of significance. With figures hidden under trashcans or brightly colored clothes, the paintings are visual enigmas. The painting above is not as overtly indeterminate, but it still uses cropped, foreshortened, and obscured compositional elements to create a mystery in regards to its premise.

Aaron Nagel's work approaches the mysterious in a different manner. His paintings of realistic female nudes evokes the transcendent quality of religious iconography. Upon a shadowed background, the women shine with supernal radiance, like carnal saints of mortal Beauty. Nagel's figures are exemplars of that which contemporary society worships.

Sincerely II (2011) by Aaron Nagel

My original training in the Arts was focused on religious iconography. So, Nagel's work really resonates with me. If "deus mortuus est" then what is the purpose of the "ora pro nobis"?

This Time I'm Doing It

While You Wait for Another (2011) By Pakayla Rae Biehn

It's been a long time since I've visited a gallery on the opening night of an exhibit. I'm more of a late Thursday afternoon art haunt. Well, this Saturday I decided to change up the routine and attend an opening. Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City is one of my favorite venues and the show included art by Pakayla Rae Biehn, an artist towards whom I have great admiration. The show was entitled "Being There" and also featured the work of Jeff Ramirez, a hyperrealistic painter.

And so I braved actual contact with people to bring you this report. ;-)



Sissy Spacek (2011) by Jeff Ramirez

Both artists featured in "Being There" are big on realism in detail and figural representation, but seem to avoid clear facial depictions. This creates a tension in the image between the specific and the ambiguous. This may be the aesthetic theme of the show. The meticulous realism of the details creates a basis or "ground" for a coherent sense of actuality; there is something there. However, the missing piece or obscurement undermines this coherence. Both artists create this tension in different manners.