Grava Gallery features Flux designer Andre
Saint-Louis. His exhibition “Pieces” displays 17 oil panel paintings portraying
fractured and fragmented human faces resembling jigsaw pieces that create
angular sculptural portraits.
Subtly jarring, the portraits’ textures in strands
of hair, reflections in eyeglasses or twinkles in eyes offer only a sliver of
the entire face. A cheek, chin or ear may be missing, alluding to those
concealed personality traits that remain unknown when looking directly into
someone’s face. What hidden emotions or thoughts lurk behind raised eyebrows or
pursed lips, especially when the complete picture is missing?
Every portrait displays a unique expression where
Saint-Louis’ facial puzzles only partially unveil these familiar people who
inhabit his life. His large-scale self-portrait Self Exposed Snippet composes the artist through a monochromaticface study with a deeply shadowed
forehead and complex colored eyes. The eyes might capture the soul, but each of
these intriguing personal paintings raises more questions about the personas
they depict. This inviting exhibition, which runs through June 5, explores the
mystery rather than revelation in portraiture.
The exhibition “Big Star” at the fifth floor’s
Portrait Society Gallery exposes “the big celebrity.” New York printmaker Carri Skoczek showcases
lino cuts that represent her personal muses. The contrasting black and white
prints delineated by bold lines accentuate each face’s prominence, which
heightens the dramatic effect to Georgia O’Keefe, Louise Nevelson and Iris
Apfel.
Many of the 15 individuals on view through May 31
came into success late in life, and their linear facial features illustrate
angst conveyed as the German Expressionists, especially Kathe Kollwitz,
emphasized in her work. Skoczek connects the internal turmoil experienced by
these eccentric personalities to their intimate portraits.
In Gallery B, Fred Bell’s diminutive paintings display authors through evocative yet sympathetic faces that include Carson McCullers, Sylvia Plath and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Bell’s sensitive handling of the oil pigment delivers a breath of life and introspection to this renowned literary collection. Within these few floors of the Marshall Building, three artists reinterpret the portrait through diverse psychological perspectives.
*/?>
