Eric Fischl

I went to see Eric Fischl's early works at the Skardest gallery in the UES. Happy to see once more some of the most iconic paintings of the 1980's; among them "Sleep Walker" and "The Old Man's Boat and the Old Man's Dog". They both illustrate one of the favorite subjects of Fischl early paintings: adolescent sexuality, existential loneliness, adult manipulation and power. Once again I enjoyed how he breaks the ground with shadows that become crates under the feet of his characters; men standing over the surface of abysses; women floating in the air like specters raising from hell or depression; a boy playing with toys in front of a pool as deep as a dark ocean; another boy stealing a purse before the deviated gaze of a cougar.

I  enjoyed his brushstrokes; raw, direct, giving the appearance of not finishing but compensated by the complexity of composition, perspective, light, shadow, space and eventually multiple canvases.

It was nice to see this paintings in the Upper East Side townhouse where Skardest gallery is located, giving them a sort of domestic posh seating; as if the old man in the boat were the owner of the walls where the paintings were hanging

The parallelism between the dog and the boys makes the little rednecks (evidenced by the red arms) be the real dogs.

http://www.ericfischl.com/