Gillock Gallery

March 6th, 2004 - Portraits

Review of Portraits, March 6th, 2004.

Gillock Gallery’s tradition of hosting unpretentious, democratically themed shows was reinforced with their first show of the year. Portraits, which featured nearly twenty-five artists - including a good number of individuals new to the gallery - was a show that seemed more cohesive than many other ones the space has had in the past.

The works in the show presented the concept of portraiture from a variety of angles, from super-realism to caricature. The many steps between those styles of painting were also represented quite fully. Portraits also offered photographic work (in a smaller side-room) along with the paintings, which added another dynamic layer to the theme. Given painting’s perennial struggle with photography’s one-click process, showing the two together often makes comparative works fight. However, in this arena where all of the photos resisted a snapshot read, the different mediums actually complemented each other.

Considering the styles and individual takes on the concept of portraiture that were on hand, it would be difficult to present a full impression of the show, but some of the works that stand out give an insight to the differing stances of representational painting in general and of portraiture specifically.

On the extreme side of realism (harkening to the work of local master James Valerio and the inimitable Antonio Lopez Garcia) were Michael Ellis and David Gracie’s amazing self-portraits. Both artists deliver a wow with their specificity and intensity of process, right down to the pores and individual hairs of their headshots.

Idiosyncratic caricature was also represented with Gillock regular Bert Menco and his Three Views. The three self-portraits, executed in his signature style with bright colors and exaggerated features, depict a “me, myself and I” tightly grouped and filling the canvas. The work seems to play on an idea of the different sides of a personality or a personification of Id and Ego, each suggesting a course of action to the questioning self.

Strong, emotive color seemed to be a common characteristic of many of the works, especially so with Tim Anderson’s Blues multi-portrait of Chicago-area blues figures. The blues, purples, reds and ochers play smartly amidst Anderson’s vigorously textured brushwork and transparencies. While Anderson often builds an image from strong contrasting colors, Ann Ponce is about harmony and clarity. Her blended values enable her to construct convincing illusions time and time again. The work Ponce showed here, titled Maria, was a massive portrait of a dark-eyed beauty in a sienna-hued interior. The work’s namesake certainly dominated the room and the show with her magnanimous gaze and elegant pose.

     As for the photography, one piece in particular stood out as both odd and intriguing. Christopher Schneberger‘s The Curiosity

of the Nearly Identical Charlesworth Twins, Lucy and Rose, a dual portrait in two oval frames, presents the twins in a frontal and

matter-of-fact way. The work takes on a stereoscopic quality, and difference is pushed against similarity. The playful dynamic between

the two faces is the draw of the piece; one’s eyes shoot back and forth comparing eyes, noses, ears and blemishes in a game of

increasing curiosity.

Finally, one of the most interesting works of the show was a small work by John Rush entitled …And Ye Shall Be As Gods, referencing the temptation of Adam and Eve. This wonderful, small piece, full of exquisite line work and deft gesture, stole the show for me. The glorious way Eve’s head slides up and back into the picture plane with such a sense of sensuality and abandon really makes the work feel passionate and genuine.

This first show of 2004 was hugely attended, with many guests staying for music and conversation long after the posted closing time. Gillock Gallery continues to make its mark, and it enters a new year with a bang and a clear vision. Here’s hoping for more shows that present this level of curatorial élan and the audience to go with it.

-Lawrence Smith, March 2004

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Updated: 03/11/2004