Prof. Richard Barnet Presents Times and Places at the William Holman Gallery
2/14/2014
Riverdale, N.Y. – University of Mount Saint Vincent Associate Professor of Fine Arts Richard Barnet has created Times and Places, a solo exhibition installed at the William Holman Gallery running February 19, 2014 through March 22, 2014. Prof. Barnet’s exhibition will run alongside Gail Goldsmith’s Everyday Weapons, featuring eight clay sculptures. The two exhibits begin with a joint reception Wednesday, February 19, 2014 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Times and Places, an exhibition of watercolors and bronze sculpture by Richard Barnet, is a celebration of life. Though Prof. Barnet would describe himself as a sculptor first and a draughtsman second, this exhibition of his drawings in pen, pencil and watercolor offers a rich and vibrant body of work filled with energy and a sense of color all his own.
Reminiscent of Philip Guston’s large liquid pink paintings, which were clustered with objects, figures, and often cigarette ends, Prof. Barnet likewise challenges his viewer to work out his messages, meanwhile seducing the viewer with a circus of line, color and motion. His works require active contemplation. Some of Prof. Barnet’s watercolors offer sculptural figures and recognizable elements; other works surrender completely to designs of lines and marks, which he unleashes in primary colors.
Reflecting a lifetime of looking and invention, these watercolors compose Prof. Barnet’s cosmos, full of abstract, surreal, and narrative elements. “These drawings are… a kind of play, make-believe,” Prof. Barnet said. “They say, ‘Let’s make something up.’ As I draw, the idea emerges. This can be called improvisation.”