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Robert
Dale Anderson & Sydney Yeager Exhibit
To
be published in Voice of Art Magazine |
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Yeager has
come into her own style of applying paint. Earlier paintings, to my
eye, which included references to recognizable objects, were not as
successful as these canvases. In those paintings, great effort was
taken to build up a textural surface rich in color. Then, as a final
gesture, the recognizable objects were painted. The result was often
a thinness that cancelled out the overall impact. A thinness, which
placed into question the importance of the objects or that of the
thick textures. However, in the new paintings Yeager never lets up.
The visual volume (if you will excuse the metaphor) is intense and
loud. The gesture is incased in the color. The differences in the
paintings are one of visual vibration. Asymmetric
Disturbance is a relatively calm picture compared to Degree
of Constraint. Yeager constructs the paintings by building up
rhythmic overlays of paint. The color palate is restrained and initially
suggests a monochromatic theme. Yet the paintings are full of contrast.
The initial viewing of the paintings gives one the sense of an overallness
that is somewhat agitated. On closer inspection one experiences the
complexity of paint application, color and compositional systems.
In Degree of Constraint,
the Baroque-like gestural form that is repeated is achieved by the
contrasting of several brush strokes of varying colors. The beauty
is in the formulaic system of consistency from layer to layer over
the entire surface. The symmetry is always in danger of falling apart.
This creates a tension that keeps the paintings from becoming mere
decorative pictures. They are pictures that are demanding of attention;
they do not sit and behave in a genteel manner. They are paintings
whose vitality and energy will stand the test of time. Robert Dale
Anderson's drawings are a very interesting juxtaposition to Yeager's
paintings. Whereas Yeager's paintings are large in size (48 inches
plus) Anderson's drawings are large in scale and small in size (7
inches to 13 inches). Both Out
There and Left Standing are drawings that depict landscape vistas. Anderson's
work is often associated with the famous 15th century Flemish
painter Hieronymus Bosch and the 16th century Dutch Bruegel
family of painters. In my opinion the associations are more like Bosch
meets Ensor meets Jan Vermeer. Anderson's images often evoke a nightmarish
dream-like state. They are of places that often feel familiar but
have never been seen before. They are possibly referential to specific
works of part but their origin is not readily obvious, nor does it
need to be. In Anderson's
most recent works, the illusion of light emanating from a specific
source and falling on objects adds a magical twist to the themes.
Earlier works tended to be more frontal and to close the viewer off
as if in front of a wall. These newer drawings use light to maneuver
the viewer in and out of the compositions, creating a sense of space
in a large scale. Like Bosch, Anderson seduces the viewer to investigate
closely the world created by the artist. Bosch uses brilliant colors
and a sense of familiar landscape compositions to lure the viewer
into his moralistic and apocalyptic paintings. Once the viewer is
drawn in, he is trapped by the otherworldliness of the imagery. Anderson's
drawings project a soft gray light that is soothing and inviting.
Once drawn in, the viewer is taken into the artist's world of morphed
plants, animals, humans, interiors, and landscapes. In this world,
the objects have an appearance of being in a state of decay. But it
is a decay that is treated with a gentleness and delicacy. The soft
range of grays, created by the graphite, has taken the edginess off
of the works (as compared to earlier works). The result is a more
contemplative picture that lingers in the viewer’s mind. This may
be the result of a more contemplative and mature artist. Individually,
each artist has produced a body of work that would stand alone as
significant solo exhibitions. It is impressive to see that the majority
of the art exhibited was produced in the last twelve months. Both
artists are familiar names on the Texas art scene and I am sure that
we will be hearing more about both of them.
If you miss the exhibition it would be worth the effort
to visit the d berman gallery and view what pieces by each of these
artists David Berman might have on hand. The gallery is fast becoming
the finest contemporary art gallery in central Texas.
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