WimZorn

March 1-15th, 2009

Wim Zorn is no stranger to new challenges. With an extensive array of visual styles from sculptural wall reliefs to abstract vistas, his body of work is vast and varied. It was with this continual sense of pushing himself in new directions that he has used to create an inspiring and impressive overture. Central to the work in this show is the sense of weight and matter, on the two-dimensional surface. Matter is the common thread running through all objects and beings in the world, and here the artist explores its elusive nature, from an elemental paring down of form and shape to classic color theory. What sets this show apart is Zorn’s ability to resistance to conventional categorization, and the expression with which he explores the simplest elements of visual definition.

Inspired by his own journey through life, Zorn’s work takes its primary focus on the form of people and culture. Zorn’s artwork takes a psychological perspective of the “other”. His own relationships clearly inform his paintings and unique color palette. He layers colors to create the razor-sharp and gauzy, soft textures that coexist in his work, best exemplified in his piece entitled Movements in Red. His colorful blending of passionate color with abstraction reveals his physical involvement in the work—paint has been applied with fervor, leaving behind a verifiable artistic signature as testimony for the viewer.

Zorn’s striking paintings draw us into an enigmatic and sensual world of fantasy, seduction, and spirit. Zorn’s work often appears formalist in its concerns; aesthetically the artist is equally drawn to isolated and quiet places—as he is to crowds and chaos. The one strand linking the various facets of Zorn’s work is his overwhelming sense of fluidity, swelling brushstroke, and his sumptuous approach to applying paint on canvas.