Flipping Reality On Its Head

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)*

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Photography

Vignette: Charles Mintz

Josh Jenkins · March 3, 2017

“Hardware stores are about self-reliance and culture that values results rather than shiny new things. In today’s world, they are survivors.” — Charles Mintz

"Cedar Center Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2015), $1000 | BUY NOW — *"Cedar Center Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2015), $1000 | BUY NOW*

As we make the world shiny and new with urban renewal and fashionable shopping malls, there is still a network of old-fashioned hardware stores located in American communities. The counters are aged; once sharp corners worn to a nub, yellowed tile floors, the glare of fluorescent lights on plastic packaged merchandise filling every square inch of space, so that the color of the walls remain a mystery. Photographer Charles Mintz has been documenting these archetypal exemplars of the American character for the last few years, searching out the rustic and utilitarian businesses wherever he travels.

As is his custom, Mintz uses a large format film camera with interior exposures ranging from one to six minutes. He explains how it serves to break the ice with his subjects: “Though ungainly, the camera is appreciated by the owners, who gave their permission for the project, and allows some control over focus and perspective. The project is a continuation of work exploring the Great American Dream and the meaning of home. Hardware stores are where we go to fix things - to make things. They are about self-reliance and culture that values results rather than shiny new things. In today’s world, they are survivors.”

"Heuser Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2016), $1000 | BUY NOW — "*Heuser Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2016), $1000 | BUY NOW*

“All of my work is about things that are important to me. It is built around my biography but is not about me. Rather it is about the culture of my time and place. It is intended to make you feel and to make you think, though it is not didactic. While this project is not traditional portraiture, it pictures the people that own, operate and shop in these stores. In addition, we can see both common elements and hints of where we are. There is a sense of belonging, a sense of place. To the extent possible, I want the subjects to speak for themselves with a minimum of my interpretation.”

Since becoming a full time photographer in 2008, Mintz has explored portraiture through objects and locations: The Album Project, Precious Objects and, still in progress, Costumes. Even Every Place – I Have Ever Lived, where people in the images are largely unrecognizable, is uniquely personal, beginning with my childhood home that was in foreclosure and continuing in all my lifetime neighborhoods the work has become less traditionally photographic both in form and method.

"Hollywood Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2016), $1000 | BUY NOW — "*Hollywood Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2016), $1000 | BUY NOW*

Mintz was Artist in Residence at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley CA in March 2016, and he was was awarded an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for 2015. His work can be found in museums, including the Smithsonian Museum of American History, private and corporate collections in North America, Europe and Asia.

Trillium Books, an imprint of The Ohio State University Press, published his latest book, “Lustron Stories”, in 2016. The Lustron series was exhibited at LVA’s PUBLIC Gallery in Louisville in 2015.

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Age: 69
Education: Mintz studied photography at Maine Photographic Workshop, Parsons School of Design, the International Center for Photography, Lakeland Community College and Cuyahoga Community College. He has a BSEE from Purdue University and an MSEE from Cleveland State University.
Gallery Representation: 1point618 Gallery
Website: www.chuckmintz.com

"Krays Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2015), $1000 | BUY NOW — "*Krays Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2015), $1000 | BUY NOW*

"Rodeo Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2016), $1000 | BUY NOW — "*Rodeo Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2016), $1000 | BUY NOW*

"Rutledge Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2015), $1000 | BUY NOW — "*Rutledge Hardware" by Charles Mintz, 32 x 40in, Inkjet Print From Scanned FIlm (2015), $1000 | BUY NOW*

Painting

Vignette: Jessica Olberz Singleton

Josh Jenkins · December 6, 2016

"Spinning Sun" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 24x24in, acrylic on canvas, $85 | BUY NOW — *"Spinning Sun" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 24x24in, acrylic on canvas, $85 | BUY NOW*

When a layperson ponders what makes an artist, they might begin by considering that is simply a matter of perspective, and also the ability to hold a perception and explore it; a search for insight and understanding of our existence within the world around us. It is the thing that makes an artist stop and investigate a rain puddle, or find the gentle passing of time marked by nature as prosaic, and then find some way to capture that impression through creative expression.

In her artist’s statement, Singleton explains, “I remember my shock and amazement the first time I saw the clouds move. I was five years old. I learned to slow down, be still, and look more closely. Taking that time today, I see and hear things that seem to come out of nowhere. Just last week I found a tiny, perfectly preserved frog skeleton beneath the seat of my car. It fits on a penny with room to spare. What are the odds?”

“Nature brings me to my senses and my senses remind me that I am in (and of) this world. And, so, inevitably I bring nature into my studio to spend more time with the leaves and the flowers. In my studio, I enjoy the sensory experience of mixing colors and moving them over the paper or canvas and watching how, with time, something new emerges.”

"Diamonds" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 10x14in, watercolor and ink, $50 (unframed) | BUY NOW — *"Diamonds" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 10x14in, watercolor and ink, $50 (unframed) | BUY NOW*

The importance of memory and sensory experience in Singleton’s work relate to time itself; the most underappreciated material in an artist’s toolbox. It plays a role in any artist’s process but is rarely acknowledged.

Singleton is also a photographer and a yoga instructor, and her painting includes mandalas that tie more obviously into health and wellness, but all of the artist’s work is inextricably connected to the harmony of nature. It clearly represents an important aspect of her spirituality, and in 2011 she opened The Trilliquin Center, where she teaches varying levels of yoga, including Gentle, Iyengar and Restorative Yoga, as well as art workshops and community events.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 40
Education: BA, University of Louisville, 2000, majored in Fine Arts with a concentration in Drawing, minored in Psychology and Women's Studies.
Website: http://jessicaolberz.com

"White Mandala on Plaid Wash" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 12x16in, watercolor and gouache, $80 (framed) | BUY NOW — *"White Mandala on Plaid Wash" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 12x16in, watercolor and gouache, $80 (framed) | BUY NOW*

"Four Circles" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 10x14in, watercolor and ink, $50 (unframed) | BUY NOW — *"Four Circles" by Jessica Olberz Singleton, 10x14in, watercolor and ink, $50 (unframed) | BUY NOW*

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perspective

Vignette: Erik Orr

Vignette: Charles Mintz

“Hardware stores are about self-reliance and culture that values results rather than shiny new things. In today’s world, they are survivors.” — Charles Mintz

Vignette: Jessica Olberz Singleton