Christopher Gallego at Seraphin
Art in America, June-July, 2005 by Anne R. Fabbri
In the 11 oil paintings and eight drawings in this show, titled "Evocative Realism," Christopher Gallego transforms banal subjects such as rubber gloves, potatoes, and careworn interiors into timeless forms suffused with light. He reveals myriad textures and colors that are easily overlooked, such as the daylight from a window reflected in an egg yolk in a green glass bowl, or a muslin-covered mannequin surrounded by dust-filtered light.
Gallego's backgrounds are often the plain interior of his studio. Except for an early figure study in pencil on paper (1998), no human being intrudes, yet each work radiates human presence. We experience it in the paint-smeared Drop Cloth (2003-04) that protects a white chest from paint-filled brushes. The texture of the cloth against the painted-wood furniture plays white against white, rough against smooth, warm against cool--a visual compendium of light created by color.
A graphite drawing (2002) and a painting (2003-04) both depict a weathered metal laundry tub, its surface rusted and marred from use. Kitchen (1995-96) is a large charcoal and graphite study on paper of one corner of a room: cookbooks on a shelf, wine bottles, knife rack, toaster, electrical cords and a window with a fire escape. In Bag of Plaster (2000), blue, brown and red patches--logos, symbols and text--are discernible on a white paper bag, with shadows emphasizing the bag's bulk and form against a muted background.
In the manner of Giorgio Morandi, Gallego paints objects that become portraits of a time and place defying categorization.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group
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