Although the show at the Ernestine M. Raclin Gallery features two artists with two very different styles, they do have one thing in common; a buttery flow to their work.
Whether looking at Justin Poole’s rich and fluid sculpture work, or Kirill Novikov’s thick oil paintings, the viewer will enjoy the visible motion within every piece.
Poole’s work features human figures in contorted, surrealistic poses, always bending, stretching, reaching, or being pulled across their space by the air around them. “Strong-Force,” done in gypsum, first seems to be rocking. Then the viewer notices that it is very still, but the masterful way in which Poole has used the three dimensional media forces movement into every implication.
“Apprehender,” made of resin, defies not only gravity but the limits of the human body. Perched on tiptoe, the form bends backward turning its body into a perfect parabola. Were the piece horizontal instead of vertical, one could imagine a person in the throes of death reaching this position.
A bronze piece called “Lovers” shows two figures high atop a pedestal, where they are entwined perpendicular to the ground. They seem to support each other like cupped hands, limbs wrapped around torsos in perpetual motion.
From his artist statement, Poole says, “When I make sculpture I always have a narrative as my objective but I also try to leave enough room for the viewer…to have their own interpretation.”
However, if you are in the mood for something more impressionistic, Novikov’s oil paintings bear staring at for a while.
Grouped together, three paintings titled “Willow,” “Beach,” and “Southwest Sky” evoke the colors and texture of nature seen from the coach of a speeding train. One feels that one is racing along a forest path, gleaning only the pattern of the trees beside the trail.
A smaller painting, “Passage,” brings birth to mind with its rusty red color, and harsh transition from dark interior to pale blue exterior.
Three paintings with clearly defined trees show the whites and browns of a grove of birches. “Snow Fall,” “Spring in Woods,” and “By the River” give you three different tonalities to the natural setting with the blue tone of snowfall, to the bright light of spring, to the diffuseness of river side light.
Novikov speaks of how the paintings are produced in his artist statement, saying, “I use custom made hand tools including trowels and rubber to lay and push layers of paint across the canvas.”
This show, “Two Visions,” runs through Feb. 5, 2010 and admission is free.
The IUSB Preface > Entertainment
One look at Two Visions
Published: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Updated: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
 "Photo: PREFACE PHOTO/Rebecca Gibson")
PREFACE PHOTO/Rebecca Gibson
Strong Force by Justin Poole
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