One-liners that Keep on Giving
Joseph Peragine “Forever and Ever” at Solomon Projects
October 5-November 3
by Bolivanni Solvacinni
The large paintings Joseph Peragine completed in only two months for Friday’s opening at Solomon Projects are a refreshing and heroic mix of Modernistic beauty and Post-Modern kitsch.
The sense of light emanating from the works is reminiscent of the 19th Century Luminists while the flat silhouettes of technological advances such as an 18-wheeler truck and electric towers recall a sensibility similar to Ed Rusche’s road iconography. Joe’s sense of humor isn’t overshadowed by an undercurrent of vast desolation and an infinite sense of hope the American wanderlust condition usually undergoes.
The blatant “forever and ever” reads as a marquis mantra for the Hollywood made American and I inwardly giggle at the saccharine idealism. So much about America is expressed with very few icons: the open road, mobile privatization and car culture, big sky and Western migration, the belief in a technological panacea, self determination and the American Dream. The works also address the shallow surface on which we base our ideas of success and the empty promise our endeavors keep traveling towards to uphold.
Forever and Ever is a dark and ominous reminder that our culture travels towards the ends without much consideration for the means.
Video Interview with the Artist
Susan Hadorn interviews Joseph Peragine at the opening.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply