Reminisce With Patrick Farrell @ Tory Folliard

Jul. 22, 2012

1:45 a.m.

On a lovely July evening, artist Patrick Farrell opened an exhibition displaying his work from the last three years at the Historic Third Ward\'s Tory Folliard Gallery. The expansive spaces filled early in the evening with old friends and fresh audiences for  "Patrick Farrell New Oil Paintings: Looking Back.” Another evening that offered Milwaukee an opportunity to honor this treasured, self taught painter who studied the grand masters of Renaissance sill life and technique with his use of layered glazes and underpainting to produce his exquisitely detailed oils on linen and board.  Farrell's exhibition at Folliard's “looks back” through his portrayal of subject material, fruit, glass and silver, he began to portray early in his more then 35 year career. In this exhibition he paints pewter as Farrell says “a non-reflective, muted and elegant material.” This becomes only the second time he renders pewter in a classic bowl overflowing with fleshy, leafed out fruit in Wild Apples With Pewter. At the Thursday opening, a collector had already purchased this very painting. Dark backgrounds filled in several of Farrell's still life images, another return to his first years when Farrell reflected "how he personally emerged from the shadows of a past life” into his professional career. He also finds glass still exciting to paint, and calls this “a great joy.” Another image on display in this exhibition “Still Life With Glass” combines ripe cherries and apples in a traditional, translucent bowl on a pedestal. In a few smaller works, Farrell placed butterflies on abstract backgrounds layered with subtle texture, almost as if these insects were preening, displaying their delicate and intricately colored wings for individual viewers. Farrell draws from his extensive butterfly collection that he has cherished for years, although the artist claims some specimens have been reduced to fragments. This “old” subject material, now often painted as a composite from his memory and these specimens, reads as a timeless reminder how fragile nature is. And that like a butterfly, life sometimes sustains metamorphosis from decade to decade. Farrell paints a portrait of his subjects, fruit, flowers and the butterflies, where each flower radiates an individual persona exemplified by Rose On A Ledge. The shaded yellow bloom unfolds before one's eyes in utter serenity and wonder to a single rose's beauty. Also included in this exhibition, three butterfly lithographs offer an affordable way to begin a personal collection marking Farrell's distinguished painting career. If one missed the opening reception, take the opportunity to reminisce with Farrell during Gallery Night, July 27, 5:00-9:00 p.m., admire his breathtaking images, and inquire into his exacting process. One leaves replacing the world's disappointments and pains with a spiritual appreciation for life's simple pleasures. <o:p> </o:p> Tory Folliard Gallery presents "Patrick Farrell New Oil Paintings: Looking Back" through September 1. For images of the exhibition and information: www.toryfolliard.com <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>

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