This is a true series: a single theme recurring with slight variations over and over again. Minuscule changes in composition and palette assume a generalized contextual significance of an incremental accumulation that transmutes the initial theme into something beyond its original self — a meta-narrative of a sort, albeit visual. It may refer to memory or even some psychological interpretation of the slope versus two trees configuration: a young couple making it against all odds, for example. Two friends withstanding ostracism and arising tall above some prejudice, and so on and so forth. The cloud in the background may serve as an example figure these imaginary characters try to emulate. But there is a more to this resemblance than just imaginary imitation.
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I am beginning to recognize the prevalence and significance of barns as an architectural phenomenon in rural America. This must be the third time I am reviewing paintings with such or similar structure being the main theme; Tracy Helgeson’s work should be one reference, and Andrea Kowch’s another. Casey Klahn’s barns are much more like the former’s — in fact, his versions put her artwork in a new light — on the one hand — and benefit from it on the other — a mutual enrichment. (Andrea’s barns are less relevant only because of their clear realistic affiliation.) Either way, the structures appear to manifest a strong visual appeal, and this review would present a good opportunity to examine the reasons behind it, through a case study of Casey Klahn’s pastels.
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I love abstract art — I don’t think I can say that outright about any other style or movement, not without some reservation. Show me works by Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock or Mark Rothko; their paintings move me and make me feel the music of color, line, geometrical form and composition, all in a kind of primordial purity which these artists tried to bare. This review, however, is not about them: it’s about Casey Klahn, a contemporary American abstract painter working almost exclusively with pastels and paper. You can find many of his works on his website, follow his blog “The Colorist” for updates, recent artwork and interviews and read his blog on the pastel medium for more technical information and news.
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