The FAR® Blog

It was a Friday night that we headed out, my dear friend Stephan and I. Me on my bike, and he on his long board, we went flying through the streets of Italian Village over to the local arts college downtown. A friend of his was having an opening there, an undergraduate student of Columbus’ College of Art and Design. On our way over there, we passed the shiny lights, sounds, and smells of the Italian Festival, complete with ices, Merlots, and patisserie. We arrived at the gallery space, in a cluster of small buildings, their insides peeking through glass windows and brightly colored pipes running inside and out. The gallery was upstairs in a small but well lit white space. About twelve medium sized paintings hung on the wall, busts of women done in a style reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol: very graphic, flat, and pop-art. Some of the backgrounds even depicted the infamous painted canvas and wooden frame.

I read the document detailing of the artist’s work and discovered that most of the pictures were studies of his past relationships with women. All of the faces in the portraits had a grey film painted over their eyes; Michael the artist said it was meant to be a reflection of the lack of real a connection with these women as well as their blindness to a certain reality. I debated with myself whether or not I found this to be a misogynic point of view or if the artist was simply being upfront about his feelings. His friends and family all attended the opening, making me wonder what the current girlfriend thought about his works. Personal life aside, he is a promising young artist whose style holds both commercial appeal and historical relevance. I found it all to be extremely refreshing.