Many artists offer work in series and sequences, but there are few that work in suites, where a visual musicality comes to the fore through variations on a theme. “Work from Beyond Two Series,” the latest solo show by Carol Dupré at Ashley Gallery, embodies not one but two suites. On view are selections from “Alice” and “Stories of the Universe.” The opening is on Saturday, December 11, from 6pm to 9pm.
The former suite features work based not on “Alice in Wonderland” but rather “Between the Sign and the Gaze,” by Herman Rapaport, a volume that delves into the identity of the young girl who inspired Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice Liddell. Respective paintings correspond to various psychological states and conditions and reference the source novel in an oblique fashion.
The latter suite encompasses work that finds the artist making sense of the universe at large through painting. By necessity, it is more comprehensive and personal. Here, solipsism diverges from reality, yet the inner world is what gives the outer world a greater life but with both universes in discourse.
The resonance between the works in both suites is grounded in technique. Dupré’s grotesque nouveau vision is made substantial through a combination of intuition and intention, which for any artist, in creating either a single painting or a suite, must prove true.
Ashley Gallery, 718 N. Third St., 2nd floor, 215.888.4813, www.ashleygallery.com
This year’s final First Friday at Rodger LaPelle Galleries features “‘Studio Reflections’ and other New Paintings” by Raoul Middleman. This time out, Middleman eschews the fantasy riffs that have blasted through his past work. Instead he opts for portraitures of models, including himself. However, his penchant for warping reality is not completely excised, as he presents some scattered landscapes that could be created from a fervid dream.
His work has taken another new turn (this is one artist who has never been known for sitting still) by delineating the people he paints with a pathos born of a revelatory approach to the process of painting. This work is gestural to the extreme, as Middleman finds that eyes are not just the windows to the soul but the path to enlightenment, no matter that sadness runs its course in more than a few folks.
A curious juxtaposition is between people and landscape. There is an urban directness to his populace, even in featuring a fisherman. However, his landscapes are more open. He finds that city structures, such as an oil refinery, are something apart from both humanity and nature. On the other hand, a farmhouse sprawling along a hillside is a positive force that can cure what ails you. He goes further still, with scenes of brooks and forests, all of which offset the malaise of the city.
Rodger LaPelle Galleries, 122 N. Third St., 215.592.0232, www.netreach.net/~lapelle//
For more First Friday reviews, visit Museums and Galleries
AroundPhilly Staff
