Abstraction
to soothe the spirits
Published
Sept 16th, 2005
Twin
Cities painter James Wrayge, whose classic abstractions
are on view at Rosalux Gallery through Sept.
30, has obviously spent time scrutinizing the
paintings of Robert Motherwell, Clifford Still,
Hans Hofmann and other American masters of the
1950s. He has absorbed their ability to float
fields of rich color -- persimmon orange, tomato
red, dove gray, eggshell ivory -- across a canvas
and to animate bright voids with jagged patches
of black, a flash of yellow, undercurrents of
morning-glory blue.
His
"Crossing Mississippi"
hints at a bridge or cathedral spire looming
out of a miasma of darkness, and "In Walked
Elvin" suggests a chance meeting of friends
in
dark, rough forms touched with streaks of gold,
teal and pink. His elegant "Ode to the
Elegist" is an especially graceful homage
to Motherwell, whose famous amber-and-black
painting series, "Elegy to the Spanish
Republic," was a decades-long meditation
on war and its aftermath. In the balance and
poise of his paintings, Wrayge demonstrates
that he has explored his mentor's turf and made
it his.
Wrayge's
winning abstractions are paired with lively,
pop-style oil pastels by Terrence Payne, who
imaginatively mingles birds, butterflies, dancers
and even a Papal "cardinal" in puzzle-like
surrealist scenes. |
