Albany Museum of Art
Albany, Georgia
912-439-8400
http://www.albanymuseum.com/index.html
Passion and Precision:
Stephen Schatz and Bryan Haynes
"Passion and
Precision" highlights the figural work of artists from Albany, Georgia,
who work in two very different styles.
Stephen
Schatz works in a vigorous painterly style. Using oil as his medium, he
passionately layers the canvas with loose, bold stokes, sometimes finishing
a work in a matter of hours. Because his works do not naturalistically portray
what he paints, he emphasizes the subject's emotional state, as well as
the feelings of the artist himself. Schatz uses strong forms and colors
with heavy outlines to convey the precise emotion of the sitter. (left:
Stephen Schatz, Head Study (Lashawnda), oil, 1999)
The paintings of Bryan Haynes surprise viewers with the
true presence of figures presented in a two-dimensional form. Haynes paints
in a tight, precise manner after going through 
a lengthy process of making photographic studies and
sketches to set up the composition. At first glance, his realistic paintings
seem to be following in the tradition of academic figure paintings. Upon
closer inspection, however, one sees areas of selected abstraction - not
every pucker of flesh is shown, not every hair on the head is painted. Haynes
succeeds in giving us the essence of figure, without having to show us every
surface and detail. And this dichotomy raises questions in the viewer's
mind: is this figure meant to be realistic? Does it hint at a deeper emotion
or passion? (right: Bryan Haynes, Artist Invocated as Object,
oil, 2000)
Passion and Precision is being
held in conjunction with another exhibition at the Albany Museum of Art,
The Human Factor: Figuration in American Art, 1950
- 1995. This exhibition from the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and
Sculpture Garden features some of the artists who have influenced Schatz
and Haynes, including Richard Diebenkorn, Chuck Close, and Philip Pearlstein.
Passion and Precision is on display in the East Galleries of the
Albany Museum of Art from December 7, 2000 until February 4, 2001.
Read more about the Albany
Museum of Art in Resource
Library Magazine.
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to see enlargements.
This page was originally published in Resource
Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for
more information. rev. 4/6/11
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Stephen
Schatz works in a vigorous painterly style. Using oil as his medium, he
passionately layers the canvas with loose, bold stokes, sometimes finishing
a work in a matter of hours. Because his works do not naturalistically portray
what he paints, he emphasizes the subject's emotional state, as well as
the feelings of the artist himself. Schatz uses strong forms and colors
with heavy outlines to convey the precise emotion of the sitter. (left:
Stephen Schatz, Head Study (Lashawnda), oil, 1999)