It's not that often that Disaster Amnesiac gets to see the inside of an art museum these days. Thankfully there was some time on a lovely Wednesday morning in Tucson to get over to the Tucson Museum of Art for some viewing. I did not get much past the Kasser Family Wing of the museum on account of falling deeply into the fantastic Abstract Expressionist paintings of Raphael Collazo. From that era of painting, this viewer noted hints of Arshile Gorky and a bit of De Kooning, but the strongest impression was that of seeing paintings by an artist who'd developed and mastered his own techniques in order to evoke the sublime. It would be specious to claim that he was not able to replicate human/animal/still life forms. In his mature works, Collazo utilized impasto paired with sculptural methods with the paint in order to manifest hidden colors and physical aspects of it. His ability to blend simpler outward forms and paint brush gestures brings depth, whimsy, and wonder to the attentive viewer of his works. Many of the canvases show fascinating granular aspects of detail. Additionally his use of inks feels like a kind of secret weapon within his pallete. Both conscious and subconscious elements are evident, with sudden reveals jumping out from the mind. Raphael Collazo's paintings pair intellectual control with more frenetic movements in ways that would surely make the owner of any of his paintings satisfied at long term viewing of them. If one finds oneself in Tucson this Winter, get over to the Tucson Museum of Art and keep your eyes open for his paintings there, particularly the largest, four panel center piece of the exhibit.
Above: details with some of Raphael Collazo's paintings.
Below: much of the centerpiece work.
No comments:
Post a Comment