PULSE TWIN CITIES: September 2005

by Natasha Walter

Published Sept 21st, 2005

Rosalux gallery is currently hosting the exhibit Vernissage: New Work from James Wrayge and Terrance Payne. The coupling of these seemingly disparate artists strikes an unusual, but imaginative balance.

James Wrayge is an abstract painter who believes that “Paintings don't have to tell stories, that’s what books are for.” He is influenced by his other life as a jazz musician and inspired by decaying city walls and rugged surfaces of nature. The most interesting aspect of his work is that at first glance it seems soothingly messy, but read the illuminating title and adjust to the enveloping mood, and a serious study of abstraction comes into focus.

Still, it’s a special kind of focus. For those of you with glasses, it's sort of like taking off your necessary appendage and walking through a world of blurry edges and semi-comprehensible shapes. Intriguingly, there is something comforting in this. Wrayge paints with the magic combination of familiarity and abstraction.

In “Twister,” for example, there is a turmoil that is initially dense and confusing. It is a small painting characterized by warm yellows and blacks scraped away to reveal shaky grays, while a vaguely funnel-like shape splits the painting in two. On first sight I found myself struggling with the meaning of the image, but smiled after reading the title: “Twister.” Suddenly I entered into Wrayge’s world with a newfound clarity. I could see what Wrayge saw—tides of shapes that come together to make what we call a tornado.

Terrance Payne’s work, on the other hand, is detailed. These large-scale drawings are complemented by clever captions and possess the playful quality of children’s illustrations. The subjects include unusual characters. In “Most Birds are Hobos and Transients,” for example, a penguin dressed in admiral attire victoriously gazes out into the distance as he stands proudly atop a mansion-sized (relatively speaking) birdhouse. Above him, tied up boxes float as though caught in motion, airborne objects being one of Payne's signature features. Each piece highlights some sort of object that is oddly suspended, giving the sense that the imagination is bursting like fireworks behind the characters.

Another feature of Payne’s work is the jarring viewpoint he imposes. The pictures are composed as though one were sitting in the grass and straining to see the commotion high above. This omnipresent combination gives the work a touch of the surreal—normally grounded objects hover in the air while we gaze into a suddenly character-laden sky.

An odd couple, certainly, but once again Rosalux has hit the sweet spot with its ability to curate a show of unusual combinations. Still, both artists certainly share an uncommon vision of the world, a perspective you might come to appreciate—after the shock wears off. ||