Published in the Weekly Volcano, Dec. 17, 2015
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| “Daily Drill,” oil on canvas by Julie Snyder, courtesy B2 Fine Art Gallery |
Ringside at B2Fine Art
Gallery is an unusual departure from the regular fare at art galleries. It is
an art exhibition about boxing featuring photographs by veteran sports
photographer Chris Farina, paintings by international kickboxer Kevin Brewer,
and paintings by Julie Snyder. Also listed in the show announcement is sculptor
Robin Antar, whose work they were unable to get in time for the show. I was
told, however, that some of his work may be available through the gallery.
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| "Unstoppable," acrylic painting by Kevin Brewer, courtesy B2 Fine Art Gallery |
The biggest
potential downfall with a lot of figurative art is the danger of letting the
subject matter become more important than the art. A lot of the art in this
show closely skirts that, but does not quite cross the line. Photography by its
very nature nearly always balances on that edge and often tumbles over, so I
will start my analysis of this exhibition with a discussion of Farina’s
photographs.
After seeing
her photographs in this show, my immediate thought was that Farina must be the
Annie Lebovitz of sports photography, but when I looked him up online I
discovered that his range is much broader, specializing in entertainment and
celebrity photos as well as advertising and corporate publicity. On his website
at http://chrisfarina.photoshelter.com/ you’ll
find photos of celebrities ranging from Donald Trump to Prince. At B2 he has
action shots and portraits of such famous boxers as Muhammad Ali; Manny
Pacquiao, a.k.a Pacman; and Rocky Balboa, a.k.a. Sylvester Stallone. There are
photos of Stallone with Pacman and with Sugar Ray Leonard; a great photo of
Mike Tyson called “Mike’s Best Side,” which is a close-up portrait highlighting
his facial tattoo; and a portrait of an ageing Ali in which his face looks
puffy but in which his essential impish humor and kindness shows through. This
may well be the best of photo in the show.
The reference
to Lebovitz is telling in a way that does not make Farina look good, because
even though his photographs are well composed, beautifully lighted and sharply
focused, they display none of the artistic genius of a Lebovitz and are, as I
indicated in the opening, more interesting in who they picture than in how they
are pictured.
Snyder has the
fewest pictures in the show, but her modest oil paintings are my favorite
things in this show. They are unassuming paintings of boxers in the ring
painted in a style such as was seen in many early American artists such as George
Bellows, George Luks and John Sloan. They are dark, with subtly expressive
brushwork and a dynamic use of dark and light contrasts. One of her best is
“Before the Bell,” a moody painting depicting a pensive boxer waiting in his
corner for the bell to ring. Another great one is “Daily Drill,” a dramatic
painting of a woman boxer working on a heavy bag. There’s more movement in this
one than in any of her others. I was told it was inspired by a Northwest
regional boxer known by the nickname “Queenie.”
Finally, there
are a number of large paintings by Brewster based on idea of using the figure
of a boxer, or boxers, as abstract shapes that divide the canvas into almost
symmetrically balanced shapes that are painted in bold swathes of color
seemingly applied with a trowel. To me (and this is personal taste, not based
on any rational critical criteria), they just barely miss being outstanding
paintings. The concept is great, the compositions are nice, but there is a
cumbersome feel to them that I find off-putting. I think his most successful
paintings are two of the same subject, boxers clinching against the ropes. They
are “Unstoppable” and “On the Ropes.”
Ringside, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, till 9 p.m. Third Thursdays,
through Jan. 9, 711 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, 253.238.5065.
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