On April 9th I was able to attend the George Rush gallery opening in our campus gallery. The show consisted of 5 acrylic paintings of a simple scene of a view from inside a window. The paintings were then displayed on walls to which a simplistic line drawing of the actual view from the gallery windows was duplicated to surround each painting. The painting are all done in a gray scale and seem to show the passing of time by a simple scene change but mostly by the play of shadow off the tree branches that are painted within & around each piece.
Upon entering the gallery you see a large painted window that gives the impression of looking in...with it's mirror image reversed on the opposite side looking out. Though while viewing these paintings I had found myself more curious about the untold side to each one, after further review I discovered that the artists intent wasn't what appeared on either side of the window...but rather to show the surface of the window: though I don't think he was able to accurately convey that message.
As I walked through the gallery I took in each piece individually and then tried to view the entire show as a whole. Outside of the two larger (approx 60X60) paintings...the other 3 were downsized yet still set against the common ground of the simple line drawings that had been projected and painted to incorporate the use of the entire gallery.
While I understand that the show was about the change of time...by using a simple scene that almost projected the feeling of passing time or killing time...as well as the artists use of the grayscale to give the illusion of either stepping beyond the paintings edge or drawing deeper into it by using the play of shadows off the tree branches...I did not find myself seeing the same vision.
While I think George is more of a technical thinker with his work...I'm more curious about the process, or the why behind the project. I did take a second look...choosing a brighter time of day to see if I could catch the lingering effect that was to be created by the shadows...though I still found myself asking why?
On a positive note...though I did not enjoy the show, I can appreciate the thought & idea behind the concept. The total utilization of the gallery space did help tie the pieces together, but in all honesty, like the captured moments in George's paintings...I felt like I was just killing time.
Thanks for your interesting response to the exhibition. I wonder if George is interested in representing seemingly boring, mundane moments...I wonder if he is even OK with evoking a feeling of boredom in the viewer...It will be interesting to find out more when he visits us on Tuesday. I'm glad you appreciate the utilization of the space...I think as artists we sometimes ignore the space in which the work is presented instead of working with it aesthetically and, in this case, conceptually.
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