Celebrating Diversity in Art
My life drawing tutor at City College of New York said it to me a very long time ago. “The thing for you, Klein, is to stay alive.” Now that I have followed his instruction, I can begin or see what he was getting at. For some artists, it is a matter of getting your head down, digging along a continuous seam in the silver mine. The work doesn’t change, it might get larger, more detailed, more accomplished. But the end result resembles the beginning. I think now that Mr. Oocheridan at CCNY was referring to the transitions in my art, the diversity of approach which makes it hard to see the unifying pattern in the work. Only over time and with the patient eye, will they be revealed.
The work ends up having a lightness in spite of its structural solidity. The dialogue which is established with the responsive viewer is one of emotion, and the experience at its best points toward the divine within us.
Needless to say, this is one heck of a trademark to promote, and will never fit into the ‘high concept’ type of work, which can be encapsulated in two sentences, and which doesn’t have to actually be seen to be understood. However this insistence on seeing the work itself, on direct experience where the physical nature of the work of art can continuously transform itself into a story of spirituality in the everyday, is an ideal worth working for.
Lately, my task in the studio seems to be one of ‘filling in the gaps’. When a new work succeeds, it seems to form another link between these diverse approaches and techniques. The joins are getting stronger, and the line which holds it together is becoming clearer. The exhibition I am creating right now, perhaps my 35th solo exhibition, is a milestone for me on this path, but a fluid one. I feel certain this work will continue.
Have a look at what cleaning up your studio can do.
Paper, Scissors, Stone
New work by Randy Klein
Nunhead Corner Gallery
6-12 October
Private view
Wednesday 8 October 6:30 – 8:30 pm
26 Nunhead Green London SE15 3PQ
For the second instalment in Paper, Scissors, Stone, click here