Reviews
IN NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND BY ARTISTS.
IN NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND BY ARTISTS.
Divine comedy
The Boston Globe
By Cate McQuaid, Globe Correspondent | May 20, 2005
The Boston Globe
By Cate McQuaid, Globe Correspondent | May 20, 2005
Comedy and desperation are the theme at the Bromfield Gallery, where two deft figurative painters offer up work that pokes fun at the human condition. Carl Mehrbach studied with Philip Guston at Boston University in the 1970s, and you can see Guston's psychological edge and cartoon style in Mehrbach's work, although the younger painter makes greater use of space and volume. Mehrbach's also got a brighter palette and, although his paintings have teeth (quite literally), the works are not as thematically dark as those of his mentor.
Mehrbach's men and women are wide-eyed, worried, and sad. I prefer the figure drawings and paintings to the still lifes. His paintings are more about feeling than about composition and form, so the still lifes don't have the energy you see in a piece like ''Summertime, and the Living Is Easy." In it, a needle-nosed fellow with an impressive set of pearly whites licks an ice cream cone. Behind him, goldfish swim in and leap out of an aquarium. Mehrbach foreshortens the space, which feels wonderfully askew, and that jumping fish hints that something threatening is on the horizon.
Mehrbach's men and women are wide-eyed, worried, and sad. I prefer the figure drawings and paintings to the still lifes. His paintings are more about feeling than about composition and form, so the still lifes don't have the energy you see in a piece like ''Summertime, and the Living Is Easy." In it, a needle-nosed fellow with an impressive set of pearly whites licks an ice cream cone. Behind him, goldfish swim in and leap out of an aquarium. Mehrbach foreshortens the space, which feels wonderfully askew, and that jumping fish hints that something threatening is on the horizon.
"Summertime and the Living is Easy", oil on canvas, 2005, 36.5x43 inches
Carl Mehrbach: New Paintings and Drawings
At: Bromfield Gallery, 450 Harrison Ave., through May 28. 617-451-3605. www.bromfieldartgallery.com
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
At: Bromfield Gallery, 450 Harrison Ave., through May 28. 617-451-3605. www.bromfieldartgallery.com
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
"Anthology of Forms No.1", oil on canvas, 1988
Review published in "Valley News", Lebanon, NH
March 18, 1988
Exhibition at "Woodstock Gallery of Art"
Woodstock, VT
March 18, 1988
Exhibition at "Woodstock Gallery of Art"
Woodstock, VT
Review published in Valley News
August 18, 2008
August 18, 2008
"Fur, Feathers, Foliage", oil on canvas, 2008
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"Fur, Feathers, Foliage", pencil on paper, 7·18·2008
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Review by John Mendelson
2002
2002
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"Man with String", oil on canvas, 1999
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"Valentine's Day", oil on canvas, 2002
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Review of Latham Library Exhibition, 2001
by Trina Schart Hyman
by Trina Schart Hyman
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Trina Schart Hyman
(April 8, 1939 – November 19, 2004) was an American illustrator of children's books. She illustrated over 150 books, including fairy tales and Arthurian legends. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing Saint George and the Dragon, retold by Margaret Hodges. |