Figures

FIGURES

New paintings by Jan Wurm
April 2 - April 30
House Gallery

HOUSE GALLERY, formerly The Livingroom, presents its inaugural show entitled "Figures" by the American artist Jan Wurm and Polish artist Rafal Karcz which examines two contrasting techniques involving neo-expressionist figuration in a sociological and emotional context. This two-person exhibition is a groundbreaking show of both new paintings and works on paper from both artists which takes a fresh and engaging look at the human body or bodies within relationships, whether it be between person and environment or between persons. Despite the seemingly traditional use of mixed media techniques or oil paints, both Wurm and Karcz fearlessly explore the way individuals are placed within their milieu without sacrificing their own sensibilities and craftsmanship of how they depict humanity.

In Wurm's latest series of paintings and works on paper, the artist uses both bright and muted colors and classical compositions to take a strong look at couples, mother and child, or groups of people in undisclosed situations happening at various places such as gambling casinos, bars, or beaches. With a sharp eye, Wurm goes beyond mere photojournalism by capturing a tense moment that may reflect joy, sadness, depression, etc. within her slice-of-life portraits. Like a short story, each work expresses a dramatic gravity that is trapped within loosely flowing lines and melting splotches of colors that suggests the dynamic nature of our own personal relationships in different context ranging from love within a couple to the Renaissance motif of mother and child. However, the pieces often contain the weight of existentialism that tempers a particular bleakness with a hint of hidden adventure about life. Often one can see her characters refusing to look at each other and speaking to each other without really engaging on an emotional level. Viewers can see all types of people within the canvases or paper ranging from the elderly to youthful beauties to children within the typology of humanity that manifests Wurm's Austrian heritage. This cross- section of her humanity mostly in a California society merges the tenor of August Sander's scientific photographs of Weimar Republican society and Albert Camus' terse short stories that harbors psychological tenseness in modern society.

- Qi Ping