REPOST: joshua rainer at m contemporary
Archenemy
Due to most galleries closing for the holiday weekend and in celebration of 2 years of Real Art Detroit and 114 reviews—whew! —I’m reposting a favorite show from the past 12 months. Enjoy and hope you had a happy 4th!
“At first glance, your eyes will have you believe that Rainer is simply another artist invigorated by the challenges of rendering technically excellent portraits. On that level he does succeed. Though relatively small, the exhibition is an impressive collection of highly realistic images — eight charcoal drawings on heavy Arches Aquarelle cotton paper and four oil paintings that almost look to be photographs.
But to look again is to join an artist in full exploration of some of life’s most timeless and vexing questions. Rainer comfortably plunges himself— pencil, paintbrush, body, mind — into deep philosophical waters. Think Plato. Think Hegel; Jesus Christ too and you whom Rainer is betting has also tussled with questions of self-discovery; dark versus light, fight or flight.”
The flagship image for this exhibition entices through both Rainer’s extraordinary technical skill as well as provocative narrative. Rainer doesn’t provide much insight into his pictures, leaving viewers to hash out interpretations for themselves.
The stark negativity of the background allows complete focus on the subject whose surprise at the enormity of his own shadow is impacted further by scale.
Rainer’s charcoal drawings are so stunning in their illusion, the viewer is able to discern tiny lines and minute changes in textures. They convey intense emotion without the luxury of color. This painting brings all of the drawings’ potency fiercely to vibrant life in the muscled sheen of the skin, wrinkles and tears in tight jeans. Light and shadow generate theater as much as the wrestling match itself.
Maybe Rainer doesn’t need to delve into written detail as most of us have experienced something akin to his passionately honest displays. Covid lockdowns involuntarily thrust most people into a state of contemplation. Artists often reside in that space because we are constantly observing ourselves and surroundings which inevitably wind up in the work we produce. There’s no greater argument for the value of art than it is a reflection of ourselves.
“I think a lot about how I go about being a better version of myself, who stands in the way of that and, who do I have to get permission from in order to become that person. Ultimately, I arrive at myself. I don’t think I’m alone.” -Joshua Rainer
On view through at M Contemporary 205 E. Nine Mile Ferndale this show is closed
*images courtesy of M Contemporary
excerpt from the exhibition essay “In the Wake of Shadows” by Nichole M. Christian
SHOWS OPEN THIS WEEKEND these are current
Very stunning work!