Writer William Goldman once opined that the difference between art and popular entertainment might be that entertainment comforts, but art should unsettle us; prompt us to ask questions. Erik Orr’s paintings immediately prompt us to wonder what we are looking at: is this a painting or a photograph? When you take into account that his subjects are primarily iconic figures in popular entertainment, music, culture, comics, and videogames, then Goldman’s proposition comes under challenge. The familiarity of celebrity faces may seem to offer accessible pop pleasures, but the presentation of the artist won’t quite allow us such a cushy perspective.
In his most recent artist’s statement, Orr describes his intentions: “My more recent works use techniques that blend traditional painting through a filter of digital technology, the works create optical illusions that will make you question your own eyes. At a time when we experience our world through screens of all sizes, these works flip that reality on its head and present paintings that look as if they are digital images from afar.”
"Anthony Michael Hall" by Erik Orr, 2.5x3.5ft, acrylic on wood (2017)
"River Phoenix" by Erik Orr, 3x4ft, acrylic on wood (2017)
Orr builds his portraits with organic vertical lines that suggest a photograph enlarged beyond what its quality should allow, yet such a question is made almost moot in the limitless digital resolution of the moment. His work straddles the divide between digital and analog both functionally and conceptually.
“In my current show, New Work, at Revelry Boutique Gallery I intend the work to showcase the culture that has influenced me to become the artist I am today.”
Orr resides in the Highlands of Louisville Kentucky with his wife and two young children. He is employed as a Graphic Designer at a marketing company and plans to continue to grow and show his work more frequently in the coming years.
New Work runs through September 6 at Revelry Boutique & Gallery.
Age: 37 Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia Education: Associates Degree in Communication Design, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA); BA, Art and Visual Technology with a Minor in Art History George Mason University Website:www.erikorr.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erik_orr/
"B-Boy" by Erik Orr, 3x3ft, acrylic on wood (2017)
"Twiggy" by Erik Orr, 3x4ft, acrylic on wood (2017)
"Scooch Over, Hon" by Tom Cannady, 48x60in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $3600 | BUY NOW
Tom Cannady describes his paintings as, “nostalgic representations of Americana,” and he has expressed that notion primarily through the use of mid-20th century automobiles, vacation images, and signs. Iconic images filled with the sunlight and faux innocence of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
There were often people before, but they were typical – middle class Americans living the dream on a hard-earned vacation, but in newer work, Cannady introduces some of the same over-exaggerated quality that we find in the 1950’s cars: sleek, fins and detailing that call attention to themselves and remind us of a time when how a car looked mattered more than fuel efficiency, into human female figures. “They Went That Away” highlights the kind of emphatic sex symbol of the period, while “Scooch Over” completes the relationship between objectification of women and automobiles that has never left us, but which was in much greater bloom at this seminal moment.
"OneTwoThree" by Tom Cannady, 24x36in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $1800 | BUY NOW
Cannady creates paintings in what he describes as, “a pop impressionist style creating new perspectives or recreating unique moods from another time. I use vintage photographs acquired from multiple sources as reference points and inspiration. Many were originally printed in black & white, which gives me complete freedom to choose the pallet best suited to the composition. I lean to warm, bright hues with strong contrast.”
Cannady is currently showing works at Makers Crucible Showroom and Craft(s) Gallery & Mercantile in Louisville, Kentucky. In November 2016 he was selected as one of twenty artists representing the sixty participants in the LVA Open Studio Weekend in a group show of work at the University of Louisville, Hite Gallery.
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky Age: 59 Education: BS in Marketing and a minor in Art, Murray State University Website:http://www.tjcannady.com
"They Went That Away" by Tom Cannady, 36x48in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $2400 | BUY NOW
"Launch Party" by Tom Cannady, 48x24in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $2400 | BUY NOW
"Hurry Up, Fred!" by Tom Cannady, 48x36in, acrylic on canvas (2015) $2800 | BUY NOW
Burcaw standing next to one of his sold paintings.
Geometry is the mathematical method of understanding specific spatial relationships and forms through numbers. Humankind requires it to build the society they occupy, but is also can be applied to less concrete forms, such as the construction of music. In the paintings of Barry Burcaw, architectural vistas are rendering in abstract terms that are schematically precise, but the structures don’t seem bound to bedrock.
The connecting forms could be the levels of skyscrapers stretching out to the far horizon while simultaneously obscuring that line, but Burcaw cites music as an influence as well, so that one is forced to ponder the shapes and forms as elements within a symphony; layers of notes and phrases meticulously constructed on the page in an academic method. Yet, when played, the score lifts away from the cold, analysis of the blueprint to become something that feels organic and heightened. Musical and visual harmony become metaphorical companions as Burcaw’s strategy with color and composition do the same for the viewer.
"Blue Plateaus" by Barry Burcaw, 50 x 50in, oil on canvas (2016)
Burcaw recently exhibited work at Jenkins Eliason Interiors. He is now preparing to offer a selection of his paintings as giclee reproductions. Burcaw paints on a large scale, and he hopes making them available on a different scale will be a smart marketing choice. “I have realized that if the price of an original isn't a problem the size often is and vice versa.”
Hometown: Palisades, New York Age: 73 Education: BS in Graphic Design, University of Bridgeport, CT
"Vanishing Point" by Barry Burcaw, 50 x 50in, oil on canvas (2016), $3200 | BUY NOW
"Global Warming" by Barry Burcaw, 50 x 50in, oil on canvas (2016), $2800 | BUY NOW
"Parthenon" by Barry Burcaw, 50 x 50in, oil on canvas (2016), $4500 | BUY NOW
