Summer Bloom Buy From Art.com

As a fan of pure abstract art I have to admit that I tend to view these works as a compromise. I am more prepared to judge them as exciting experiments that haven’t quite worked out. The combination of flowers and abstract geometry flourishes in the more austere, Malevich (and maybe Rothko) inspired paintings (such as The Iris Nine Patch, The Poppy Nine Patch and the Aura and Karma pair), possibly because the irregularity of nature complements the squares, producing multi-layered works of art. Here the lines, shapes and forms are endowed with mobility that creates just enough inner tension and interest: the flowers and the branches fall out of the loop as they are no longer needed to perform the thematic task they did in the patches series.

Spring Chorus Buy From Art.com

In fact, they don’t seem to perform any kind of task at all and may appear outright redundant! There is, however, a way to “solve” this “problem” — and it seems that Don Li-Leger is actually moving in this direction: regarding the works as “pastiches” rather than “paintings”. Pastiche seems like a more viable and appropriate genre category; it puts the viewer on a different path, unveils the artwork from a fresh perspective, and gives it a new life. Now there is no need for harmony; on the contrary, the less of it the better. Blossoms assume aesthetic meaning on their own right and the paintings become rich depositories of various stylistic features. Perhaps the artist achieves his synthesis after all.

Read Related Reviews:

• Don Li-Leger: Iris Nine Patch
• Don Li-Leger: Poppy Nine Patch; Poppy and Fern Nine Patch
• Brent Lynch: Cigar Bar

Karma Buy From Art.com

The color schemes are nearly identical — but reversed. The outermost squares contrast each other effectively, red repelling the green (or the blue), the two hues occupying opposing segments of the color wheel. Neutral beige divides the upper and lower part in a shrewd, Swiss kind of way. The colors balance each other out, but not completely: the more saturated red appears heavier, and either weighs the piece down (Aura) or pulls it up (Karma). I think that in order to achieve a complete balance (if it is indeed desirable — a matter of strictly personal choice) one needs to offset the former with the latter.

Aura Buy From Art.com

Once again there is the temptation to try and guess the meaning of the colors, especially because most of them actually do not invite a straightforward likeness to something familiar. While the green and the blue parts most probably allude to a marine background, the yellowish-beige and the dark red seem indecipherable, and almost enigmatic. One reminds of sand and hot sun, but may just as well depict water under different lighting. The other projects a strong dusky vibe, but may in fact represent a part of an interior, which in turn would denote the flowers as still life! The artist tests his color formula in a different setting — harsh conditions — and proves its effectiveness once more.

Karma and Aura Buy From Art.com

Read Related Reviews:

• Dawn Lundquist: Roosters
• Deborah Paris: Dusky Landscapes — Cause and Effect

Iris Nine Patch Buy From Art.com

But there is a more abstract compositional feature that discloses kinship: in both paintings the artist emphasizes the cross shape, marked by darker colors in the first variation, an overall light piece, and lighter ones in the second, an overall dark piece. Arguably, the paintings carry religious overtones, although most probably Don Li-Leger alludes once again to Kasimir Malevich and his classic Black Cross.

Black Cross Buy From Art.com

The focus on a geometrical shape proves that these works are firstly abstract, secondly figurative. The irises themselves serve an auxiliary role of a thematic foil, which the audience sees through the stained-glass window squares.

Iris Nine Patch II Buy From Art.com

There is one characteristic which, depending on individual taste, may prove to be somewhat tiresome. The cross shapes contribute to a certain symmetry — which may feel oppressive after awhile. The artist solves this problem in other variations, the Orchid Nine Patch (print below) being an example of blissful imbalance that nevertheless retains the cross. It seems as though the artist was hesitant to go all abstract in the Irises and compensated for his irresolution by taking more risks in the Orchids. Eventually the abstract tendencies prevail over the flowers as the true experimental subject matter of the series.

Orchid Nine Patch Buy From Art.com

All prints are also available in wall tapestries.

Read Related Reviews:

• Don Li-Leger: Poppy Nine Patch; Poppy and Fern Nine Patch
• Don Li-Leger: Summer Bloom, Spring Chorus
• Brent Lynch: Cigar Bar
• Dawn Lundquist: Birds of Paradise and Angel’s Trumpets
• Casey Klahn: How to Make Your Audience Weep

Poppy Nine Patch Buy From Art.com

The nine squares remind of windows or doors: each one is a possible way out into the open, where the flowers grow. The artist establishes a link between indoors and outdoors, if only in the viewer’s mind. Each square is a basic abstract element based on Kasimir Malevich’s Black Square, and the entire work — the sum of the parts — is another allusion to the groundbreaking masterpiece. Sometimes it may seem that the geometry theme takes precedence over the rest, and the flowers only decorate the two dimensional plates. However, the muted emotional impact of symmetrical geometrical interplay cannot emulate the liveliness of the poppies, which literally pop up here, there and everywhere.

Poppy and Fern Nine Patch Buy From Art.com

Focusing solely on the decorative element gradually reveals that there is a full landscape distributed between the parts of whole. Interestingly, the mood makes itself felt even without a visual reconstruction; the general impression is of an autumnal, warm day progressing towards its end — a touch of romance and sadness with a large dose of warm optimism. The red of the flowers accords perfectly with the shades of brown, yellow and wine-red. The irregular form of the stems and the blooms enlivens the strict linear division. Ultimately, this painting relaxes and instills feelings of security because all elements complement each other without breaking into the other’s thematic territory.

Poppy Nine Patch Buy From Art.com

The humorous part consists of the artist’s invitation to play tag and try and recreate a more coherent landscape. The thing is, I don’t think it’s possible — it seems as though the painter cheats a little, teasing the audience. The semblance of a game tricks the viewers to fix their gaze on the piece for a little longer than usual, and absorb all that warm welcoming energy. The somewhat confusing light square in the middle serves as a vacuum area that catches the viewer’s attention, which then would be diffused between the peripheral squares. Eventually, this central “point of entry” gives the piece its edge: it keeps the color scheme slightly off-balance and reminds us that this is an abstract work of art after all.

Read Related Reviews:

• Don Li-Leger: Iris Nine Patch
• Don Li-Leger: Summer Bloom, Spring Chorus
• Brent Lynch: Cigar Bar
• Casey Klahn: How to Make Your Audience Weep

Evening Lounge Buy From Art.com

The most obvious divergence from the Cigar Bar is the placement of the drink (in relation to the customer): here it is much closer to the lips of the drinker, who appears to have just taken a sip. Although the set of traits exhibited by the gentleman — being mysterious, plunged in thought and lonely — recurs here too, the woman shows signs of disappointment, wisdom and life experience. These additional qualities demystify the figure considerably, but add a touch of charm and languorous elegance that the man, so it would seem, would never be able to grasp. This a richer, more sensual and humane painting; the counterpart is crisper and more energetic. Perhaps the best words for a comparison would be simply feminine versus masculine.

Jazz Duet, Vocal Buy From Art.com

The glasses and the bottles assume symbolical meaning, both echoing and implying the woman’s fragility. There are countless imaginable scenarios: she may be nervously waiting for someone who will never arrive — a situation that could break her heart — and each glass and bottle may seem to clink and tremble along with her inner self. The sheer number of glass objects further accentuate her fragility (both physical and emotional). Her body’s shape resembles a slender champagne glass, or a bottle; overall, the glass intensifies the mood and enriches it with an understated dimension of precipice, danger and risk.

Jazz Duet, Piano Buy From Art.com

Finally, one has to wonder where is the barman, in both paintings. After all a bar is a place where people congregate for the sake of spending time together and enjoying each other’s company. Even if someone prefers to remain in total solitude (in a venue meant to be crowded), there is always the barman somewhere around, the ubiquitous steward who traditionally absorbs some of the drinkers’ gloom. We witness here an artificial situation where no one except the principle person is visible: this prompts to guess that something has happened, something serious and unexpected, or at least about to happen. Once again, in these two bestselling paintings Brent Lynch probed into the postmodernist psyche, expressing some of its collective fears and anxieties.

If you found this article interesting, please support Art&Critique by purchasing the print from Art.com! Thank you! :)

Read More Reviews:

• Andrea Kowch: Landscapes and Outdoor Scenes — A Descent into Memory
• Alessandro Andreuccetti
• Dawn Lundquist: Roosters
• Casey Klahn: Barns and The Abstract Wizard of Washington
• Jacquelyn L. Berl: Collages
• [Art Interpretation Guide] The Power of Imagination Part 3
• Vic Vicini: Food Paintings
• Stephen Magsig: Downtown Red
• Stephen Magsig: Nocturne in Blue & Grey #2
• Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Faith

Cigar Bar Buy From Art.com

The painting immediately surprises the viewer: showing a man’s back, it presents an anti-portrait of a sort, alienating the audience. Alienation as a modern (or perhaps post-modern) term informs the piece thematically; we, as the audience, are given the cold shoulder and the smoker appears to have been treated similarly. He makes an impression of a mysterious, plunged in thought and above all lonely man. Curiously, he looks away from the outstretched hand that holds the drink, as if the hand was an alien organ that wants to bring him harm. Arguably, this compositional choice by the artist injects the motif of alcoholism and personal struggle with the disease.

Evening Lounge Buy From Art.com

The punch of the piece ensues from the contrast of the black wearing cool dandy having a smoke and a martini with the imposing red rectangle facing the man. It’s unclear what it means, whether it is a mirror reflecting the murky interior (although a mirror would have probably shown the sitter’s face) or an abstract painting. The artist sneaks in an irony by the color juxtaposition : Is the man really that cool and confident? Is he impervious to desire and impulse that the color red is known to signify? Could he in fact be an emotional wreck, posing and trying to conceal his inner state by fashionable clothing? All these questions are left hanging in the air, intensifying the general mood of smoky mystery.

Cigar Bar Buy From Art.com

But the most distressing feature in this painting is the use of shade and light. These are sharp and unstable, sometimes outright exaggerated. For instance the hat casts a disturbing shadow on the man’s back of the head, as if mocking the audience: we can’t see the face — but we can’t see the back either. His right leg creates a long shadow that balances the left arm but, also parodies it, first by being intangible and second by the sharp slanting angle. All these features and questions combined prompt to question the protagonist, the main problem remaining — does he question himself?

If you found this article interesting, please support Art&Critique by purchasing the print from Art.com! Thank you! :)

Read Related Reviews:

• Don Li-Leger: Summer Bloom, Spring Chorus
• Don Li-Leger: Iris Nine Patch
• Don Li-Leger: Poppy Nine Patch; Poppy and Fern Nine Patch
• Andrea Kowch: Magical Realism and Real Problems