P29
For Mary and Everything Under Her, 6 ft x 5 ft, mixed mi xed media on canvas
Vessel 3, 30" x 23", oil on paper
Yarrow, 18" x 24, mixed media on canvas
Duke and Wigmore, 2001, Mixed media on paper, 22 x 30 inches
That She Had Wanted, Wanted, Water Water based enamel e namel paint, oil paint, oil crayon, pencil, and charcoal on linen, 40 x ! inches
Casseopia, ! x " #eet $%2& x !0&', mixed media on can(as
Wall is Close, x 6 feet !84" x2", mixed media on canvas #$f %o& have too m&ch control, nothin'(s 'oin' to happen)* +ohn o%land
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCmFhbUAHbU Artist Gary Komarin feature in ocumentary !"ti##! $ou have to be wor%in& on the e&e of somethin&. 'here has to be tension. $ou &ive #ife to the paintin&( an it spea%s bac%. )f you can write about it( then why o it? )f you over*mana&e the paintin&( or over*irect over*irect it( you ta%e a## the #ife out of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n"Cy'+,--r GA$ K01A)2 * 3A)2')2G -)'H 'H4 )224 CH)56 ) on7t have a process an approach each paintin& with no iea of what ) want to o. ) #et the paintin& #ea me( to ta%e me where it wants to &o( an ) respon to it. )t7s #iberatin& to chan&e your min over time. ) have a busy min an ) try an turn that off to surrener to the paintin&. http-..///)'ar%omarin)com.
raser a%lor, ose /ice, 1996, oil on canvas, 122 x 152
EDUCATION M in Paintin', oston niversit%, 7t&dent of Philip &ston, 195 rool%n M&se&m 7chool, 195 :e/ ;or 7t&dio 7chool in rt and
an% 7tate niversit%
Komarin( a 2ew $or% born artist an former stuent of abstract e8pressionist 3hi#ip Guston( revea#s not on#y the creative process in visua##y comp#ete #ayere pieces( but hints at his ori&ins. 'he son of an architect( Komarin9s wor%( whi#e it imp#ies a e#icate human* ness( su&&ests architectura# form. His wor% spea%s of the &ray an uncertain areas of #ife. A time cau&ht between reco&nition an efinition where the ima&es themse#ves become the enith of focus. Komarin is %nown for e8p#orin& shapes( at once stran&e an fami#iar( seemin&#y imprecise yet e#o;uent. Komarin p#ays on a viewer9s capacity for chi##i%e wonerment. His simp#e yet sophisticate ca%es( wi&s an vesse#s bec%on us to observe an interact with their outra&eous co##ective an ientity. Ca%es( wi&s an vesse#s are the common motifs of the pieces that Komarin create at 'anem 3ress. Usin& a cartoon*#i%e e8pressionist sty#e( he presents his ob
fello/ship at oston niversit% /here he st&died /ith Philip &ston) Bomarin /as offered his first niversit% teachin' position at o>art C Dilliam 7mith ?olle'es in 198) e has s&>seE&entl% ta&'ht at he niversit% of Fre'on, 7o&thern Methodist niversit%, and he niversit% of $o/a) Bomarin /as nominated for and received he +oan Mitchell Pri@e in Paintin' in 1999) ar% Bomarin eeps a st&dio in the /ooded hills /est of :e/ ;or, /here he lives /ith his /ife, three ids, and ver% lar'e do') ar% Bomarin does in his paintin's /hat acro>ats do on the hi'h /ire- there is a constant >alancin' act >et/een sophistication and simplicit%, >et/een cartoonlie expressionism and eloE&ent a>straction) is ima'es at first seem simple and even a//ard, >&t 'iven eno&'h time, the complexit% of the parts reveals itself and the vie/er >e'ins to see BomarinGs relentless artistic c&nnin') he 'ritt% s&rfaces have a sense of &r'enc% that is conve%ed >% the /a% he &ses E&icdr%in' materials- tempera, /ater>ased enamel, 'raphite, or /hatever happens to >e at hand) his 'ropin', scratchin', addition, and s&>traction serve to doc&ment the str&''le >et/een chaos and control) he process points to this artistGs a>ilit% to not onl% &se Gpaintin'asno&nG to descri>e the place he finds, >&t also ho/ Gpaintin'asver>G 'ot him there) he ima'e that s&rvives the process is determined >% BomarinGs search for an indescri>a>le "ri'htness)" % relentlessl% p&shin' himself in the st&dio, he challen'es the vie/er /ith fresh paintin's that feel p&re and &nrehearsed) he% are at once tr&thf&l and darin') e met /ith an ever shiftin' arra% of sol&tions) he colors of certain expanses are arrived at >% mixin' one pile of paint into another, directl% on the canvas) is more la>oredover s&rfaces have dense, savor% planes /hile either s&per'raphic>lac or sharp, vi>rant h&es are &sed to descri>e the most direct, &nrepentant stroe) BomarinGs mix of rich, s&>tl% shiftin' colors and the hot, acidic pi'ments help each paintin' prod&ce a specific com>ination of h&es to create its precise flavor) =ie a vi'oro&s 'ame of Pictionar% >et/een &ston, /om>l%, and Mother/ell, Bomarin deftl% &ses shape and form to pla% /ith the moment of reco'nition- /hen does a mar stop >ein' a mar and >ecome an o>HectI he vie/er is left /ith the envia>le tas of sortin' thro&'h the si'nposts in this painterl% landscape) he reocc&rrin' shapes in his /or the /i', the cae, the vessel lend themselves to different levels of interpretation) t the same time, these ima'es create a sense of a>s&rdit% in the paintin'- the% are imprecise, E&ir%, and even romanticall% fancif&l) BomarinGs stal/art ima'es have an epic E&alit% that 'rips the vie/er /ith the idea that he or she is looin' at a contemporar% description of somethin' timeless) rin's optimism to contemporar% a>straction, pointin' to a >lithe spirit in the ho&se of >ea&t%) ar% BomarinGs paintin's are a cele>ration as /ell, hi'hli'htin' a partic&lar vie/ of the /orld and invitin' &s to reeval&ate o&r place in it)
Hamlett Dobbins , Director, Clough-Hanson Gallery , Rhoes College , !em"his, Tennessee
ieo ima&e
A wi#er >#ue( @@/B( 1i8e meia on canvas( D 8 E cm
)pso Facto( @@B( 1i8e meia on paper( D 8 , cm
An )ta#ian >o8 "titch( @@D( 1i8e meia on boar( 8 cm
A "uite 0f >#ue "ea 5a&una >each( @@B( 1i8e meia on canvas( 8 E cm
6u%es an -i&more( @@( Acry#ic on paper( E 8 ,cm
'wo 3air( @@B( 1i8e 1eia on canvas( ED 8 cm
Gary Komarin born( BE 2ew $or%( 2$ is a mu#tita#ente artist that not on#y paints( but i encaustic paintin&s an prints for many &roups inc#uin& Garner 'u##is in 2ew $or% an 'anem 3ress. Gary Komarin was born in 2ew $or% City to a Cech architect an a iennese writer who f#e the Ho#ocaust. He stuie art an 4n&#ish at A#bany "tate University an #ater was the stuent of the abstract e8pressionist 3hi#ip Guston. Ham#ett 6obbins writes( IGary Komarin oes in his paintin&s what acrobats o on the hi&h wire: there is a constant ba#ancin& act between sophistication an simp#icity( between cartoon*#i%e e8pression an e#o;uent abstraction.J He uses ;uic% ryin& meiums #i%e tempera( water*base ename#( an &raphite as we## as scratchin& an on*canvas b#enin& which #eaves his paintin&s with a Isense of ur&encyJ( an yet a touch of romanticism. Komarin #i%es to wor% with various motifs such as wi&s or vesse#s. His iea for Ca%e 3aintin&s on 3aper can be creite to his parents. His mother ba%e #ots of homemae ca%es when he was &rowin& up an his father was an architect. Komarin rea#ie an e8ce##ent opportunity to mer&e the omestic with the architectura#. For e8amp#e( )ta#ian -ein& Ca%e #oo%s #i%e it too% a note from the Co#iseum. His 6u%e an -i&more series came about after a trip to 5onon with his wife an chi#ren. 0ne ay he was to meet up with her at a pub on a street corner. )t was at the crossin& of 6u%e an -i&more streets( so to remember he repeate these names over an over a## ay. 'he mantra i not fae out when he returne to the "tates so
he ecie infuse the chant into a series reconci#in& chaos an contro#. ICONOCLASTIC ABSTRACTION
by 6ona# Kuspit 3ub#ishe in the >i## 5owe Ga##ery Cata#o&ue * Gary Komarin: Her 6utch "hoes 'reate Her -e## Apri# @@ Can abstraction survive? 'hat9s the ;uestion with which 1ar% osentha# conc#ues his ma&isteria# stuy of Abstraction in the 'wentieth Century . 2ow that abstraction has become estab#ishe( the issue is no #on&er whether it can maintain the sense of 9ris%9 an 9freeom9 that osentha# notes were its ha##mar%s( but if it can avoi becomin& 9hieboun9 in the twenty* first century. 2ow that it is no #on&er 9e8perimenta#(9 can it continue to be vita#? 0r( as ) wou# put it( can it continue to evo#ve( becomin& somethin& other than the #abore forma#ism in which osentha# su&&ests it threatens to ea*en? Komarin shows us one way in which it can: he breathes ;uir%y new #ife into abstraction by ma%in& it witty. He ta%es what was once 9forbiin&9 an 9hermetic9 * osentha#9s terms for abstraction in its heroic inau&ura# perio * an ma%es it ironica##y #yric by ma%in& it p#ayfu#. He returns &estura#ism to its ori&ins in #anscape( but the abstract #anscape is no #on&er 9apoca#yptic(9 as Kanins%y9s have been sai to be( but whimsica#. He ta%es what ha become c#ose systems of &eometrica# an non*&eometrica# abstractions an interbrees them. 'he resu#t is a %in of hybri abstraction( #ess heavy*hane than traitiona# abstraction but sti## emotiona##y serious. )t is an overt#y heonistic abstraction( rather than confrontationa# in the sty#e of the 0# Abstract 1astersL there is a power in p#easure they( in their 3uritanism( cou# not appreciate. Komarin a#so has the benefit of aftersi&ht: he orchestrates the who#e eve#opment of abstraction( brin&in& its ifferent musica# strans toðer in a sort of &ran#y ironica# musica# paintin& * an ironica##y symphonic paintin& not un#i%e "atie9s witty music. 'he point is c#ear#y mae by 9an 6y%e9s an 6y%e9 @@( not simp#y by way of the c#ever tit#e( which su&&ests that Komarin9s abstract paintin& has an e#e&ance simi#ar to that of an 6yc%9s re&a# portraits( but by way of the witty p#ay of shapes. "ome are ;uic%#y an casua##y rawn( as thou&h scribb#e in a chi#9s s%etchboo% or on a writin& pa. 'hese shapes seem easi#y chan&e * they are on the ver&e of bein& free form( yet a#so reaab#e as ima&es a sort of
sai#boat in the upper ri&ht corner( a %in of house in the #ower ri&ht corner * an even erasab#e. 'here are a#so painter#y is#ans of ense co#or * seemin&#y so#i &roun on an otherwise ;ui8otic fie# of ar%ish &ray( mar%e by #itt#e eruptions of bri&ht co#or. 'hese eccentrica##y shape forms * they seem to be s#ow#y &erminatin&( however concentrate in themse#ves * are ironic reprises of the patch tache that has been the mainstay of moernist paintin& since it was first ac%now#e&e by critics of 1anet9s paintin&. Komarin9s paintin& is a reprise of 9thin*s%inne9 co#or fie# paintin& an 9thic%*s%inne9 &estura# paintin&( with &eometrica# os an ens ae by way of #inear rawin&s. >ut it is a e#icate#y c#ever reprise( openin& up new e8pressive as we## as perceptua# territory. 'he three painter#y patches * pin% an ar% pin%( capricious#y e#on&ate into e##ipses( an a s;uarish patch of pitch b#ac% * form an eccentrica##y open system a sort of oran&e co#ore cross*#i%e star emer&es from the 9ne&ative9 space between them( mar%in& their center. 'hey are counterba#ance by the c#ose system of the &reen trian&#e on which the b#ac% patch is ubious#y p#ace. 'he trian&#e itse#f is precarious#y perche on the tower*#i%e tip of a f#imsy rectan&#e. Hoverin& hi&h above it is the sai#boat( combinin& the trian&#e an rectan&#e forms both the same soft co#or as the rectan&#e be#ow. 'here is a &ent#e tension between the three trian&u#ar units( as we## as between the f#at surface on which they appear( #i%e mira&es in a voi. For a## its brooin& atmospherics an sensua# touches( the surface remains pecu#iar#y invio#ab#e. )t supports the a##yin& shapes( innocent#y f#oatin& on its f#atness * #inear an painter#y #ue "ea( 3eter9s 3on 5a%e9 both @@( ma%e the #anscape anchor of Komarin9s abstraction c#ear( even as they show it veer ener&etica##y towars ironica# purity. 'here are the same &estura# patches( now compacte into a sort of composite painter#y materia#. >ut the rips( the seemin&#y s#apash brushwor%( the f#owin& toðer of broa fie#s of e8cite co#or( have an in&enious f#air. 3urity is pushe towar its contraictory #imits * perhaps most evient in the abrupt ifference between the #ar&e p#ane of rippin& b#ac% an the sma##er p#ane of #uminous b#ue in the #atter paintin& * reminin& us of the conf#icte consciousness that informs traitiona# abstraction. 'here is much more harmony in the &#owin& ye##ow fie# of 9A "uite of >#ue "ea( >ishop9s Gate9 @@ * the same sea in an a#toðer ifferent #i&ht? * but there is the same ir%some tension an pecu#iar#y 9introverte9 an s%etchy
shapes( ho#in& their own as they rift on the f#at sea. )ts stron& uner#yin& current becomes e8p#icit in the meanerin& #ines of 9A "uite of >#ue "ea with French -i&9 @@( a sort of unrave#in& of the rawn shapes( a#thou&h the comp#e8 co#or patches remains intact. 'he transparency of the rawn shapes an the opa;ueness of the co#or patches ma%es for another #eve# of forma# an e8pressive tension. 0ne can ca## Komarin9s abstract paintin&s ;uir%y forma#ism( if one nees a #abe#( but ) thin% it is better to thin% of them as a smart synthesis of spontaneous &esture( &eometric composition( an iconic form( with a certain tenency to monochrome. 'hese are the four 9basic forma# options9 of abstract paintin&( as osentha# says( an in Komarin9s paintin&s we fin them mi8e to #yrica##y absur effect. 9)ncient as 0sbourne Grove9 @@ ma%es the point c#ear#y: its near monochromatic surface * 9Hi##9 an 9ue 1aame in e9 both @@ are a#most comp#ete#y monochromatic * is mar%e by spontaneous &estura# 9incients9 that ta%e more or #ess &eometrica# form( becomin& pecu#iar#y iconic or emb#ematic. 3rocess paintin& an structura# paintin& uni;ue#y an inevitab#y fuse to insinuatin& e8pressive instinct. "ome of Komarin9s paintin&s are manifest#y erotic( others #atent#y me#ancho#y( but the point ) want to ma%e is that Komarin is an esthetic funamenta#ist with an ironic twist. 'he twist prevents this wor% from becomin& ecorative#y empty * the fate of so much abstract art( as the theorist 1a8 Hor%heimer remar%e. Komarin en&a&es the ecorative but finesses it( as the critic C#ement Greenber& sai 1atisse iL Komarin has a certain ebt to 1atisse( an to French 9#u8ury9 paintin& in &enera#( as Greenber& ca##e it. A &oo part of the irony is that Komarin9s paintin&s hover ineterminate#y on the bounary between purity an ima&ery. As soon as they seem one*sie#y abstract( they become 9impressions9 of a natura# environment. 'his oub#eness %eeps them fresh even as it confirms their traitiona# moernism. For Komarin remins us that abstraction has its roots in )mpressionism( an )mpressionism is roote in the preoccupation with the painter#y metier imp#icit in the ea#ism of Courbet an 1anet. Komarin is a moernist painter( that is( he is acute#y aware of his meium an ta%es a certain 9critica#9 stance to the p#anar surface( but he is a#so aware that a moernist surface that #ac%s a poetic char&e becomes a sha##ow facae. 0ne mi&ht say that Komarin has re*or&anie increasin&#y mechanica# an se#f*sufficient moernist paintin& by reminin& us of its broa#y base herita&e in romantic natura#ism( that is( in emotiona# attunement an carin& observation of nature. )nee( Komarin renews the fantasy of nature in which abstraction is eep#y roote. 2ature contraicts itse#f by way of chan&in& atmosphere an #i&ht(
even as it remains se#f*re&u#atin&. 'he apparent ranomness or irre&u#arity within its re&u#arity su&&ests that nature is in sub#imina# evo#utionary process. ) thin% that what ma%es Komarin9s paintin&s important is that they harness the parao8ica# ranomness of nature( furtherin& the evo#ution of ima&inative abstraction. Abstraction ha become too 9re&u#ar9 an uninspire * set in its ways * for its own creative &ooL it neee an infusion of chance to arouse it from comp#acency( an renew its visionary power. Abstraction is no #on&er revo#utionary( but it can sti## be a breath of fresh visua# air. 0ne mi&ht say that Komarin ima&inative#y searches out fresh moes of ranomness( as nature seems to. 'he evo#utionist 6ean Keith "imonton notes that evo#utionary chan&e be&ins with 9chance permutation9 of 9funamenta# units in paintin& * co#or an #ine that can be manipu#ate in some manner... 'hese e#ements must be free to enter into various combinations! . 'he e#ements are ientica#( but arran&e in ifferent ways( to what "imonton ca##s 9iconoc#astic9 creative effect. >ut then these 9hetero&eneous variations9 must be 9sub
1useum( BB, 6ean Keith "imonton( !Creativity( 5eaership( an Chance(! 'he 2ature of Creativity( e. obert M. "ternber& 2ew $or%: Cambri&e University 3ress( B( DB*B@
critical essay by Ham#ett 6obbins 6irector( C#ou&h*Hanson Ga##ery( hoes Co##e&e( 1emphis( 'ennessee Gary Komarin oes in his paintin&s what acrobats o on the hi&h wire: there is a constant ba#ancin& act between sophistication an simp#icity( between cartoon*#i%e e8pressionism an e#o;uent abstraction. His ima&es at first seem simp#e an even aw%war( but &iven enou&h time( the comp#e8ity of the parts revea#s itse#f an the viewer be&ins to see Komarin9s re#ent#ess artistic cunnin&. 'he &ritty surfaces have a sense of ur&ency that is conveye by the way he uses ;uic%*ryin& materia#s: tempera( waterbase ename#( &raphite( or whatever happens to be at han. 'his &ropin&( scratchin&( aition( an subtraction serve to ocument the stru&&#e between chaos an contro#. 'he process points to this artist9s abi#ity to not on#y use 9paintin&*as*noun9 to escribe the p#ace he fins( but a#so how 9paintin&*as*verb9 &ot him there. 'he ima&e that survives the process is etermine by Komarin9s search for an inescribab#e !ri&htness.! >y re#ent#ess#y pushin& himse#f in the stuio( he cha##en&es the viewer with fresh paintin&s that fee# pure an unrehearse. 'hey are at once truthfu# an arin&. 4ach paintin&9s uni;ue pa#ette e8tens the notion that a particu#ar ;uanary must be met with an ever shiftin& array of so#utions. 'he co#ors of certain e8panses are arrive at by mi8in& one pi#e of paint into another( irect#y on the canvas. His more #abore*over surfaces have ense( savory p#anes whi#e either super*&raphic*b#ac% or sharp( vibrant hues are use to escribe the most irect( unrepentant stro%e. Komarin9s mi8 of rich( subt#y shiftin& co#ors an the hot( aciic pi&ments he#p each paintin& prouce a specific combination of hues to create its precise f#avor. 5i%e a vi&orous &ame of 3ictionary between Guston( 'womb#y( an 1otherwe##( Komarin eft#y uses shape an form to p#ay with the moment of reco&nition: when oes a mar% stop bein& a mar% an become an ob
time( these ima&es create a sense of absurity in the paintin&: they are imprecise( ;uir%y( an even romantica##y fancifu#. Komarin9s sta#wart ima&es have an epic ;ua#ity that &rips the viewer with the iea that he or she is #oo%in& at a contemporary escription of somethin& time#ess. 4ven his sma##est paintin&s have a monumenta# presence. A#on& with other important painters( his wor% brin&s optimism to contemporary abstraction( pointin& to a b#ithe spirit in the house of beauty. Gary Komarin9s paintin&s are a ce#ebration as we##( hi&h#i&htin& a particu#ar view of the wor# an invitin& us to re*eva#uate our p#ace in it. >orn in 1anhattan in BE( the son of a Cech architect an iennese writer who f#e the Ho#ocaust( Gary Komarin receive a &rauate teachin& fe##owship at >oston University where he stuie with 3hi#ip Guston. Komarin was offere his first University teachin& position at Hobart N -i##iam "mith Co##e&es in B. 4OH)>)')02 4)4!Gary Komarin! 3ub#ishe in Art in America 2ow in micareer( 2ew $or% born artist Gary Komarin ma%es wor%s that owe as much to Co#or Fie# paintin& as to his oft*cite mentor( 3hi#ip Guston. -hi#e scraw#e Guston*#i%e tropes are efinite#y a ha##mar% of Komarin9s wor%( they are ba#ance by eep( thou&htfu# breaths in between. 4nchance by an ener&etic use of co#or( Komarin9s ima&es re#y on the tension between the spontaneous an the consiere( the accienta# an the conscious#y e8ecute( for their stri%in& vita#ity. 'he artist hies nothin& * his methos are perfect#y evience as he covers an uncovers( e#ineates an sweeps over the shapes on his canvas. An what are these shapes? 'hey cou# be thin&s * boats( bott#es( bo8es an hats * or they mi&ht
it9s a#most #i%e a b#ac%boar * but an improbab#y transparent one. As the eye a)')02 4)4"Paintings Do the Talking, Without Too any S!eciics"
2ew $or% 'imes February ( @@@( by >arry "chwabs%y Gary Komarin oesn9t want to say too much about his paintin&s( but he9s not brus;ue about it. He9s a#most apo#o&etic( actua##y( but in the course of e8p#ainin& why he9 rather #et the paintin&s spea% for themse#ves( he ens up te##in& ;uite a bit. 0#y enou&h( the paintin&s are very much the same way. "eemin&#y imprecise in their ima&ery( austere in pa#ette( se#f* absorbe in fee#in&( their surfaces &ritty an unin&ratiatin&( they can neverthe#ess become e#o;uent( for those patient enou&h to &ive them time. A#thou&h abstract( 1r. Komarin9s paintin&s sometimes contain shapes that are ;uite #e&ib#e * a wi& or a hat( for instance * but more often they ten to su&&est many thin&s without &ettin& ;uite specific about any of them. An in conversation( the artist is not ea&er to ma%e them any more specific. 'he forms resonate when they are at once stran&e an fami#iar. !) on9t %now what this form is(! 1r. Komarin says( wa#%in& across the &a##ery to inicate 94stra&on(9 a paintin& from BB. !1aybe it remins me of a bon&o * but if ) start to thin% of it as a bon&o( that ca##s up a## %ins of associations that are irre#evant to the paintin&. "o ) try to issociate from that whi#e )9m wor%in& on a paintin&.
!)t wou# be mis#eain& to put a name to these forms. As a viewer you brin& somethin& ifferent to them( epenin& on your own e8perience * epenin& on what you saw #ast wee%( or what you rea( or maybe what you ate.! 0ften the forms echo the aw%warness of chi#ren9s art. !1ost artists #ove chi#ren9s rawin&s because they9re so irect an free(! 1r. Komarin says. >ut his nebu#ous( seemin&#y ha#f*forme or ha#f* ientifie shapes are meant #ess to reca## they way chi#ren raw than their e8perience of seein& thin&s without %nowin& what they are( what he ca##s !a chi##i%e sense of woner an baff#ement.! -hen as%e whether a recurrent form in some of his most recent paintin&s( a simp#e #oop attache to a vertica# #ine( is rea##y meant to be seen as a noose( 1r. Komarin ac%now#e&es that he sees it that way too( e8p#ainin& that he9 been thin%in& of the chi#9s wor &ame han&man. >ut he oesn9t isavow the sinister overtones of the ima&e( specu#atin& that the &ame9s ori&ins are #in%e to the fact that han&in&s were once a form of pub#ic spectac#e or popu#ar entertainment. A#thou&h 1r. Komarin has #ive in F#aners for the #ast years( his tou&h( somewhat taciturn manner sti## evo%es 2ew $or% City( where he was born an &rew up. He has been e8hibitin& his wor% nationa##y since B( but @@@ #oo%s to be his busiest year ever. A#on& with this e8hibition( he is a#so oin& one*person shows this year in At#anta( 6es 1oines( 3a#m "prin&s( Ca#if.( an -ashin&ton. After stuyin& at A#bany "tate University( he went on to &et a master of fine arts at >oston University( where he stuie with 3hi#ip Guston( the Abstract 48pressionist painter who shoc%e his contemporaries in B@ with the first of the crue#y fi&urative canvases that occupie him unti# his eath a ecae #ater. 'he critic Hi#ton Kramer( for instance( erie him as !a manarin mas;uerain& as a stumb#ebum(! but Guston9s #ate wor% turne out to be enormous#y inf#uentia# on youn&er artists. As a teacher( 1r. Komarin reca##s( !Guston mae paintin& seem #i%e a oor to the un%nown * a way to e8p#ore yourse#f( the wor#( the human conition. He wante you to paint what you on9t %now rather than what you %now.! Guston9s #esson in cu#tivatin& the un%nown has c#ear#y stuc% with 1r. Komarin. An on a more superficia# #eve#( the teacher9s pecu#iar sense of form can a#so sti## be trace in his former stuent9s wor% * in the way 1r. Komarin9s bu#bous forms can seem to echo( in an abstract way( the ci&ars( cyc#opean heas an na%e #i&ht bu#bs in Guston9s paintin&s.
0f course Guston is har#y the on#y preecessor whose inf#uence has mar%e 1r. Komarin9s canvases. 'he fact that many shapes he uses resemb#e
A "uite of >#ue "ea( >ishop9s Gate( @@
>i&&er 3in%( @@
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He uses acry#ic paint on hu&e raw canvases or house paint Q ename#( crayon or oi# paste#.
"arah ". Kin& Mu#y @@D At first viewin&( Gary Komarin7s recent show of mi8e*meium wor%s on canvas an paper seeme preoccupie with overt references to the paintin&s an ima&istic #e8icon of his inf#uentia# teacher 3hi#ip Guston( for whom he a#so wor%e as a stuio assistant. 5i%e Guston( Komarin ep#oys a set of sin&u#ar motifs an cartoonish si#houettes that appear fre;uent#y in his wor%s. 'hese inc#ue a ,@s*sty#e f#ip*hairo wi&( stac%e ca%es( #opsie vesse#s an an array of ia&rammatic forms an &eometric vo#umes. )n contrast to Guston7s wor%( however( Komarin7s compositions( which re#y on a broaer ran&e of co#ors( are e#ementa##y abstract( eschewin& narrative components. 3ainte in an ener&etic Abstract*48pressionist vein( the wor% seems primari#y concerne with interactions of #i&ht an co#or( as we## as epictions of movement an surface te8tures achieve throu&h iverse meiums an painter#y techni;ues. 'hese compositions( which fre;uent#y feature patchwor%s of co#or within #ar&er facete p#anes of comp#ementary co#ors( are a#so instant#y su&&estive of ichar 6ieben%orn7s abstractions. 'heir heavi#y wor%e*over surfaces( &enera##y one in oi# an ename#( remain effective#y f#at( p#acin& emphasis on painter#y &esture often accentuate by the creases an #ue @@( for instance( the thic% roya# b#ue rivu#ets of paint su&&estive of &ooey icin& out#ine the top ha#f of a mu#titiere ca%e. 'hey a#so serve to iso#ate se&ments of the bac%&roun7s intricate tona# an &estura# orchestrations( which are renere in both frenetic patches an trans#ucent washes of e&&she## browns( pa#e pin%s( ochres an cream whites. Here Komarin7s poetic sensibi#ity an versati#e techni;ue show themse#ves to best avanta&e( an his sty#istic inf#uences become #ess istractin&.
Aison 3ar%s( 0ctober( BB -hen so many seem to be out either to invent the ne8t se#f* c#eanin& oven of paintin&( on the one han( or tota##y eny its continuin& evo#ution on the other( seein& the wor% of a youn& painter e8p#orin& an e8panin& on bro%en &roun refreshes with a satisfyin& promise. Gary Komarin has ta%en up his search behin painters #i%e 6ieben%orn an Guston. At twenty*ei&ht( his fiery ener&y an sin&#e vision have he#pe him prouce a #ar&e boy of mature an consistent wor%. 4ach canvas is an aventure throu&h one pair of eyes( one set in the union that is the vision of Gary Komarin. 'hese ima&es are not the prouct of carefu# renerin& or some ma&ica# techni;ue( but the resu#t of irect an simp#e evotion to the act of paintin&* paintin& in the traition of Abstract 48pressionism: paintin& about #i&ht an space achieve throu&h co#or( shape an #ine. 'here is #itt#e remar%ab#e about a painter pursuin& Abstract 48pressionist paintin&. After a##( it is our on#y traition. -hat is remar%ab#e is that he has accepte the periphera# #imitations of a va#i but we##*beaten course many wou# say a ea horse( an has not on#y ta%en us eeper into that frontier #an but has a#so mana&e to ma%e fresh( unstuie paintin&s that are bri&ht with an a#most c#umsy fran%ness. )t is this #ive#iness in spite of an overwhe#min& traition that ma%es them so e8citin&. 3oo#s of co#or( o#y shape an ran&in& in sie( are set with an a&ainst each other #i%e stones in wa##( &ivin& the paintin&s the pu#e*#i%e f#atness of rectan&u#ar pieces of #an as seen from above. -ith #itt#e fences of ifferent co#ors nervous#y containin& them( the effect is at once f#at. 'hen they shift( with no accessib#e perspective to &uie space an with #itt#e obvious over#appin& or su&&estion of iminishin& proportions:
open fie# of co#or. 'heir own co#or ran&es from e#i&htfu# comp#iments to utifu# ar%s an surprisin& #i&hts. 5i%e the rest of the paint( they are turpentine*thin without imension but a#ways a#ive in motion. 'he e8perience of these ima&es reca##s both the #anscape an interior space. As #anscapes they recee into space across horionta# beaches of co#or interrupte by earth#y etai#s: as interiors they have a vertica# &eometry that su&&ests the more intimate brea%up of an architectura# space efine by furniture an man*mae ob
Co##a&e "eries O))( BB( Acry#ic an Co##a&e on 3aper( EJ 8 J
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the spanish brie( Acry#ic on Canvas( J 8 J 8 J >orn in 2ew $or% City( the son of a Cech architect an iennese writer( Gary Komarin is a ris% ta%er in contemporary painter#y abstraction. Komarin9s sta#wart ima&es have an epic ;ua#ity that &rip the viewer with the iea that he or she is #oo%in& at a contemporary escription of somethin& time#ess. For painter Gary Komarin( abstraction has never been a forma# ea en. ather( it has a##owe him to cha##en&e the #imitations of the sty#e *to ma%e paintin& 9inc#ue more9 precise#y because a reco&niab#e ima&e e8c#ues too much. Komarin has been ca##e a !painter9s painter!. His status in this re&ar is base on the authenticity of his wor%( its eep connection to the traition of 1oern paintin& as we## as its sustaine iniviua#ity as an utter#y persona# voice. 5i%e many of the best artists of his &eneration he is inebte to the 2ew $or% "choo#( especia##y his mentor 3hi#ip Guston with whom he stuie at >oston University where he was aware a Grauate 'eachin& Fe##owship. Komarin has been particu#ar#y successfu# at fi#terin& these inf#uences throu&h his own potent icono&raphy. Guston9s inf#uence is evient in Komarin9s mer&ence of rawin& an paintin& often brea%in& the picture p#ane of his rich an e#e&ant#y compose
co#or fie#s with an assortment of private iconic ca%e an vesse#*#i%e ob
Komarin shuns the traitiona# canvas app#yin& a ;uic%*ryin& concoction of thinne*out #ate8 house paints to inustria# canvas tarps an rop c#oths. 'he ;uic% ryin& materia#s are app#ie ur&ent#y( but in carefu##y chosen co#ors an meitate compositions. 'he resu#tin& wor% mirrors a suspene tension between the spontaneous an e#iberate. Komarin be&an a four*ecae career uner the mentorship of 2eo* 48pressionism #eaer( 3hi#ip Guston. Guston( a contemporary of -i##em e Koonin& an Mac%son 3o##oc%( inf#uence Komarin to mer&e rawin& an paintin&. Conse;uent#y( Komarin7s #ayers of paint are intersperse with whimsica# icono&raphy such as an assortment of ca%es an vesse#*#i%e oby contrast( it is an utter
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A "uite of >#ue "ea( 5aramie( @
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The #sca!e Artist$ )t seems that Komarin fins nourishment in the viscera# an repetitive process he emp#oys in paintin&. How e#se cou# he ma%e an rema%e the wor% a infinitum? He may fee# re#ief whi#e wor%in& or escapin& from wor% or rea#ity( an is thereby ab#e to continue in this fashion without cessation. oth%o writes( -hen the artist prouces somethin& which is inte##i&ib#e on#y to himse#f( then he has a#reay contribute to himse#f as an iniviua#( an with this effect has a#reay contribute to the socia# wor# y postponin& or isp#acin& reso#ution( an e8hi#aratin& no to transcenenta#ism( Komarin offers us the %in of space in which to woner infinite#y( suspenin& our nee to ;uantify an thereby ;ua#ify our specu#ative Rmoments7 on earth. obert 0tto 4pstein S 2ew $or% @@B
The Solace o Re!etition 'he vita#ity of abstraction toay assures us that abstract paintin& can bear a profusion of contemporary narratives. 'his sense of art7s abi#ity to en&a&e the present has encoura&e a iversity of practices( a##owin& cu#tura# an socia# issues to coe8ist with abstract form. Free from the tyranny of #abe#s an cate&ories( the conceptua# nature of paintin& has re*emer&e in the service of a mu#titue of voicesTfrom a techno*conscious &eneration referencin& unpreceente moes of communication to iniviua#s wishin& to incorporate a## manner of autobio&raphy an ientity.
'o ;uote Komarin7s ear#y mentor( 3hi#ip Guston( a reco&niab#e ima&e Ie8c#ues too much.J
-hi#e Komarin is not the type to write a manifesto( he embraces the phi#osophy that intention is but a sma## fra&ment of our consciousness( that paintin& shou# be more about e8perience than a statement of intent. For near#y three ecaes Komarin has steai#y prouce a seemin&#y en#ess reconfi&ure visionTsaturate an #oose co#or fie#s punctuate by rips( sp#otches( an &host#y rawn &eometriesTinifferent to the ebb an f#ow of taste. An throu&hout he has remaine ;uite content to a##ow each viewer Ito brin& somethin& ifferentJ to his wor%. 'hrou&hout his career( Komarin7s repetitive( a#beit improvisationa#( metho has resu#te in the accretion of a chi##i%e visua# vocabu#ary. 'ypica# of this mannerism( for e8amp#e( are the smu&e( scraw#e s;uares an cubes( tictac*toe &ris( an bu#bous fish#i%e shapes of the 'he >#inin& of 3o#yphemus( p#ayfu# e#ements that para##e# the eceptive#y uncomp#icate character of his wi&s an ca%es. A## these e#ements share a ;uir%y( unsophisticate ;ua#ity that f#irts un%nowin&#y with the potentia##y an&erous un%nown( not un#i%e the subversion to which his sma##er( proppe esserts an items of mas;uerae are sub
-hat be&s investi&ation in this otherwise strai&htforwar seascape is the schematic repetition of form typica# of Komarin7s wor%. 'he trian&u#ar sai#( for e8amp#e( is re*articu#ate more than once( #itera##y e8tene( rawn out as thou&h oo#e into a tent*#i%e form( an( echoe( a&ain( by another simi#ar( thou&h now #oomin& cone*#i%e &eometry( which( croppe by the #eft mar&in( encroaches an warfs its counterpoints at sea. 'he aitiona# presence of a ar% form behin the sai#( perhaps another boat( a hu#%in& bar&e or frei&hter( easi#y morphs into a vase an as ;uic%#y into a sti## #ife. )s not the essence of the compu#sion to repeat fue#e by the nee to p#ay out over an over the traumas of chi#hoo? 6oes not the artist7s tenency to rep#icate a form an move it from one space to another( such as happens in the unwie#y roc%#i%e shapes in His 1in 5i%e a Gree% 1ote#( erive from a #ife#on& preoccupation with the fate of a man who i
The Dra%ing Pushes the Painting an& the Painting Pushes Back 'he marria&e of rawin& an paintin& in Komarin7s wor% is ;uite open an free f#owin&. He fee#s #iberate by the free association that occurs with crayon rawin&. 'he artist raws an paints( bac% an forth( embracin& those ;ua#ities that paint or crayon or charcoa# contain. )t is evient that the painter uses rawin& to open up the space of a paintin& when thin&s &o f#at or the surface becomes inert. 'he space between Rthin&s7 in his paintin&s is as important as the forms themse#ves. >arry "chwabs%y( a former 2ew $or% 'imes art critic( wrote for the Cata#o& 48hibition for 6ubai( IA paintin& procees by steps from wonerfu# to #ess than wonerfu# an bac% to wonerfu# in a matter of secons. 'he term that painters often use is that a 3aintin& is wor%in& or not wor%in&. 1ar% ma%in& with crayon or penci# or charcoa# can set the paintin& in a ifferent irection. 0ne( however( oes not want to Rirect7 too much.J
6irty -hite 'appin& eeve 8 @V @ )n Komarin7s wors( I5i%e the 6aa*ist painters( ) wi## c#ose my eyes( raw Rsomethin&(7 raw anythin& an then a##ow the han to #ea me where the paintin& nees to &o. 'he rawin& may #oo% #i%e somethin& or it may not #oo% #i%e somethin& but the ener&y of the mar% ma%in& is apparent an %eeps the Rsoup7 of the 3aintin& very much a#ive. 'he rawin& pushes the paintin& an the paintin& pushes bac%. 'his is a &oo p#ace to be. 'his is the best p#ace to be.J -here oes Gary Komarin fin ieas for his wor% nowaays? 5i%e every artist with a %een eye( he observes everythin& from a
A "uite of >#ue "ea Geor&ia( @( mi8e meia on pane#( 8 ins )ntuitive &estures form the bac%&roun of his bo##y co#ore canvases( ba#ance( or unba#ance with an ama#&am of scraw#e( spontaneous rawin&( rips an cartoonish( chi#*#i%e forms.
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