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Since arriving in Cleveland from Rotterdam at the end of July, artist Karen van de Vliet has been prodigiously productive, creating 16 portraits, which currently adorn the walls of Gallery Ü. The resulting exhibition, Playing with the Light Within, also includes an apparel installation by Alexis Marie Savon, and a video piece by R Ferris.
Van de Vliet's portraits embody the title of the exhibition, as her subjects' energy is exuded through her ability to charge their expressions — especially their eyes — with an electrifying intensity; this is underscored by van de Vliet's use of vibrant colors, geometric shapes, and angular lines. There is an edgy nervousness about the work, which makes it visually and emotionally compelling.
Van de Vliet paints with acrylic, but her technique defies the glossy artificiality that so often accompanies that painting medium. The artist sparingly applies the paint on unprimed canvas, which, in her words, “sucks the paint into the raw material.” The surfaces are activated with intense hues, which are countered by the occasional suggestive detail, like the subtle curve of a waft of hair, or a quickly but expertly sketched heel of a boot, or foot of a stool. The paintings are stylish, often evoking the American graphic art and design of the 1970s. This is most evident in the paintings of people from magazines. Smoke, for instance, depicts a thin, purple-faced individual with a nest of tangled, multicolored hair taking a drag of a tobacco or marijuana cigarette. The person's face and hand are a mix of purple, green and blue, giving them an otherworldly quality. The surface of the canvas is packed with colors, shapes, and agitated lines; even the smoke that emanates from the cigarette appears controlled and linear in black and white.
The “light within” is most evident in the portraits van de Vliet paints of her friends and loved ones. Despite the stylized quality inherent in the vivid colors and angular shapes and lines, the artist is able to capture the spirit of the people she paints. Ed and Tracy are paintings of the friends she is staying with in Cleveland — Ed and Tracy van der Kuil, who work part-time at Gallery Ü. In Tracy the artist captures the subject's thoughtful sense of intelligent reserve, as uncontrolled wisps of hair contrast her subject's pensive, introspective expression. Van de Vliet also perfectly portrays Ed's personality, as his eyes, nose, mouth, and cheeks fill the picture. His eyes are lively, and he offers viewers a crooked, devious smile. Unlike Tracy, whose eyes pensively avoid the viewers' gaze, Ed looks directly at the viewer, unabashedly confronting them. His expression is playful yet composed; the mischievous side of his personality is underscored by a wild array of quickly rendered lines and dots in vivid teal blue, red, white and yellow. Van de Vliet manages to make Ed's green eyes sparkle right off the canvas. These paintings reveal the artist's genuine affection for and understanding of her portrait subjects/friends.
Jam Session represents a collaboration between van der Vliet and Cleveland artist/musician John Howitt. The painting references Cleveland on the left, and Rotterdam on the right. While the urban energy of both cities is apparent through cartoon-like, graffiti-esque imagery, the Cleveland side is, of course, much grimier. Yet the fluorescent orange and bright blue meld remnants of each city's skyline, perhaps representing the partnerships the van der Kuils plan to establish between Cleveland and Rotterdam artists.
“We hope that [Karen's show] is the start of a long-term project where we can bring Dutch artists to Cleveland and send Americans from Cleveland to the Netherlands,” Ed van der Kuil explains. Hopefully, with the van der Kuils' energy and Gallery Ü's owner/director Patsy Kline's support, the exchange can continue. Cleveland needs to export more of its cultural products and endeavors, and if this exhibit is an indication of the kind of work that will be introduced from Rotterdam, the importation of culture is also sure to be inspiring.