Stay in the Loop
BSR publishes on a weekly schedule, with an email newsletter every Wednesday and Thursday morning. There’s no paywall, and subscribing is always free.
Carlo Russo paintings at F.A.N. Gallery
Simplicity still works
ANDREW MANGRAVITE
Carlo Russo’s current show at F.A.N. Gallery consists of 25 small oil paintings, mostly still-life studies and landscapes, with some flower paintings and a pair of informal portraits. The still life paintings are quite polished affairs, and look almost like 19th-Century works. They are quite somber, and Russo’s choices of furniture, Chinese art, etc. all conspire to give the impression that you’re in an antique shop rather than a contemporary art gallery.
This observation may send some people rushing for the exits, but I admire the quiet craftsmanship that Russo puts into these works. The still life is far from my favorite genre of art, but I like the seriousness and respect with which Russo approaches it.
About a dozen landscapes on display, and Russo brings the same sense of earnestness to them. A painting like Dirt Road is not especially large, but it produces a “big” effect by its very simplicity. What you see is what you get: a turning road, some trees, a shed of some sort in the distance— yet the painting tells you everything you need to know about “the lure of what lies behind the next bend in the road.” It’s a travel painting minus a traveler. You, the viewer, are the traveler down that dirt road.
Lonely Winter Road is Dirt Road’s plainer, more haunted cousin. Green Door, Vernazza is one of those snapshots-not-taken that returns to haunt the traveler.
Summer Clouds and Evening Clouds, Missouri— both lovely examples of American Impressionism (which, I’m happy to report, did not die out in 1920)— are contrasting studies in light and dark, while Cold Day in Venice offers the most bravura brushwork of the show with its treatment of the choppy waters of the canal.
Journey to Solace deserves a special mention for its uncanny capture of the essential qualities of Whistler’s great seascapes, as do Kimono and Red Scarf, Russo’s two semi-portrait studies.
For at lovers of traditional leanings, this is a show that’s well worth seeing.
ANDREW MANGRAVITE
Carlo Russo’s current show at F.A.N. Gallery consists of 25 small oil paintings, mostly still-life studies and landscapes, with some flower paintings and a pair of informal portraits. The still life paintings are quite polished affairs, and look almost like 19th-Century works. They are quite somber, and Russo’s choices of furniture, Chinese art, etc. all conspire to give the impression that you’re in an antique shop rather than a contemporary art gallery.
This observation may send some people rushing for the exits, but I admire the quiet craftsmanship that Russo puts into these works. The still life is far from my favorite genre of art, but I like the seriousness and respect with which Russo approaches it.
About a dozen landscapes on display, and Russo brings the same sense of earnestness to them. A painting like Dirt Road is not especially large, but it produces a “big” effect by its very simplicity. What you see is what you get: a turning road, some trees, a shed of some sort in the distance— yet the painting tells you everything you need to know about “the lure of what lies behind the next bend in the road.” It’s a travel painting minus a traveler. You, the viewer, are the traveler down that dirt road.
Lonely Winter Road is Dirt Road’s plainer, more haunted cousin. Green Door, Vernazza is one of those snapshots-not-taken that returns to haunt the traveler.
Summer Clouds and Evening Clouds, Missouri— both lovely examples of American Impressionism (which, I’m happy to report, did not die out in 1920)— are contrasting studies in light and dark, while Cold Day in Venice offers the most bravura brushwork of the show with its treatment of the choppy waters of the canal.
Journey to Solace deserves a special mention for its uncanny capture of the essential qualities of Whistler’s great seascapes, as do Kimono and Red Scarf, Russo’s two semi-portrait studies.
For at lovers of traditional leanings, this is a show that’s well worth seeing.
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
