Alvin Richard (visit his website and blog) is a Canadian self taught artist who paints still life, urban and outdoor scenes with exuberant optimism and such an unflinching energy and directness as to unveil before the viewer a bonanza of life’s sparkling possibilities. As a skillful photorealist, he renders transparent and metallic objects with meticulous accuracy — but they are rarely the focus of his paintings. To produce multi-layered, sometimes labyrinth compositions he assembles areas of color, arranging them in geometrically complex structures, not without a hint of the abstract. Light shines through these transformations as the unifying force that binds all elements together into pulsating and vibrant works of art, such as these florals
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March 5th, 2008
3:35 pm
Polls
I am pleased to announce that the next reviewed artist is going to be Alvin Richard.
Congratulations!
I would like to thank everybody for participating and taking the time to look at the artists’ blogs and websites.
Alvin Richard does fascinating things with light and color, and I will try to investigate how in the upcoming commentary. Stay tuned for the next review!
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There is always the dilemma of choosing paintings for a review. For this one I want to focus on the series on brushes because they represent an antithesis to the broken glass pieces, thus closing a cycle. Here the theme of destruction encounters a worthy opponent — the brushes embody creation, and they physically tower erect and quietly valorous, and undaunted. The artist depicts the tools of his craft in the process of cleaning and maintenance, implying replenishment and constancy that can stand up to the notion of ruin and obliteration. So, to be frank to the end, the dilemma in this case was fleeting: if there is an opportunity to show how abstract concepts summon and resist each other within the larger context of the artist’s entire output, I grab it.
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These chiaroscuro sculpted toys stand out as miniature totems. Placed upon a pedestal, they soon transcend the connotation of child’s play, crossing the boundaries of amusement to the much more serious realm of (animal) worship. That is a provocation: is the transition possible without the violation of a spiritual sentiment? Perhaps it is — native Americans, who were known to sanctify various fauna, were often considered naive, credulous and psychologically uncomplicated, all of the qualities that make children so charming. The artist’s choice to depict strictly domesticated animals comfortably returns us to a more customary setting, in a way tying the loose thread of hypothetical historical time travel.
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March 1st, 2008
1:49 pm
Polls
Two artists who participated in Poll 1 were nominated once again, and I am more than happy to comply. The third artist is Alvin Richard.
I started thinking that if a certain artist gets nominated three times, he should get automatically to the top of the list and be the next reviewed painter.
So these are the artists participating in Poll 2, which is planned to close on the 5th of March.
I encourage you to click these links and check these websites before casting your vote.
M Collier from California, USA.
Visit M Collier’s Daily Painter’s Gallery and blog.
Todd Bonita from New Hampshire, USA.
Visit Todd Bonita’s website and blog.
Alvin Richard from New Brunswick, Canada.
Visit Alvin Richard’s On-Line Studio and blog.
Thank you all for participating, and
GOOD LUCK to THE ARTISTS!
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