Howard Lerner "Myth and Metaphor”
Synchronicity Fine Arts
This event has ended.
"Myth and Metaphor" exhibition will feature recent works of NEA-acclaimed artist Howard Lerner.
Lerner's work is a voyage into sculptural abstraction, melding elements of kitsch and Judaica, mismatched buttons and Hebrew lettering, scrap metal and modern interpretations of Talmud histories. Lerner's approach brings an accessible levity to religious themes oft elevated to a sacred yet disconnected place.
"In my sculpture, I have created a series of found object constructions whose themes originate from the Old Testament, yoga and Coney Island," said Lerner. "Using discarded finds from our world, I weave and integrate Biblical verse from ancient time to connect us with the Divinity in those legends."
Lerner relies heavily on his observant Jewish upbringing for the concepts that underlie his art. He gravitates toward what is in his words, "the good stuff" or the imaginative aspects of his religious training: the mysticism, miracles and wonders that breathe life into Sunday school teachings. While studying with Phillip Guston, Lerner's style underwent a defining metamorphosis from traditional drawing to the more spontaneous aesthetic of "3-D painting" and sculpture to represent the legends and myths he seeks to interpret.
"In my paintings, a stage is set with its' cast of characters and each object takes on its own persona," said Lerner. "Using a painterly approach, I orchestrate these iconic actors which are used to create my vision of reality."
Lerner's characters are often a menagerie of raw personal effects and found objects i.e. broken coffee cups, seashells, crystals, spark plugs and the like. Boundaries blur between the inner and outer worlds, the sentimental and the practical, the literal and the contextual. In the process of reshaping these definitions, what is physical versus spiritual is wholly reconstructed. The result is a collage that disregards historical conventions to give real meaning and engagement to that history.
Media
Schedule
from June 06, 2012 to July 07, 2012
Opening Reception on 2012-06-06 from 18:00 to 20:00