Alonso Rey
Halcyon Coffeehouse, through Aug. 21
What moves one person may repulse another, and that is the nature of discriminating taste. Attraction to an artwork can be attributed to the passages within the work that connect to our personal narrative or explore emotions we have experienced or states we wish to attain/avoid. Hung in our homes, the artists’ intents fade, techniques employed become irrelevant because it is the owners’ relationship to the work that matters. Our projections do not require art historical referencing, a grasp on techniques, or preparatory knowledge regarding height placement for maximum impact. All that is required is an intense connection to the work and an understanding that language barriers, namely artspeak, can be traversed. The work is in communion with the self.
According to the eminent French art historian René Huyghé, “Art is for human societies what the dreams of an individual are for the psychiatrist.” Alonso Rey paints psychological dramas of human interactions: longing, grief, pathology, love, sexuality, and despair – the vignettes that mirror life. In many of the works, Rey has painted members of his family, friends, and people from his inner circle in order to interpret the individuality of a person. In Bipolar, the same young woman pulls a rope at both ends. The complexity of human nature, revealed through the image of the double, interrogates the integrity of limits, fears, and transgressed boundaries. She is somber and perturbed. She is young and striking and looking out there into your eyes. Bipolar provides an example of Rey’s psychological realism, which is achieved by the private connection between the young woman and the viewer. The work possesses some elements of photorealism with Rey’s sinuous lines accentuating overlapping washes of paint and the utilization of smooth brushstrokes to create a flat surface.
It’s hard to shake off our preoccupation with the trappings of jargon originating in disciplines like art or psychology. Bipolar is notable for its play on an idiom to establish an unexpected truthfulness that captures human character. There is a real story behind the double bind of the young woman in Bipolar. And there is your tale. I prefer yours.
This article appears in July 29 • 2005.