Head Shots at the Mindy Solomon Gallery

There is nothing more unique than one’s self; the turn of a mouth, the shape of the eyes, a furrowed brow, each minute gesture conveying to others an emotion frozen in time. Can a mood change in the blink of an eye? Certainly a person can choose to mask their true self in order to disguise their inner feelings and identity. But for a brief moment we the viewer can catch the essence of another. We get a “head shot”.

Artist Julie Weitz states: “My current body of work began with a literal, if not impractical, attempt to represent, as accurately as possible, the portrait of an individual hidden from view, disguised by the covering of a mask…by meticulously rendering a portrait of an individual whose identity remains concealed, I intend to present a contemplative way of understanding an already loaded and overstated image, while taking into account the contradiction indicative to the representation of a hidden individual.” Weitz’s portraits, though cloaked, convey a human element in the single eye that stares out from the covered visage.

Weitz works with gouache on paper. Gouache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor (the term preferred by art historians) is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. Gouache differs from watercolor in that the particles are larger, the ratio of pigment to water is much higher, and an additional, inert, white pigment such as chalk is also present. Like all watermedia, it is diluted with water.

According to Tanya Batura, “My figures are a compilation of conflicting ideas and emotions that are derivative of the ideal beauty inherent in traditional figurative sculpture and the abstract beauty that is found in the contemporary non-artistic photographic representation of the body…I am interested in the vulnerability and latent sensuality that can be seen in these images and the emotions that are elicited from the interactions of their conflicting nature.” Batura’s work triggers an emotional reaction from the viewer; how they interpret her figures parallels their level of comfort or unease with the work.

Batura works with acrylic paint on earthenware clay, a non-traditional surface technique. She thoroughly sands the surface down to a smooth finish and then applies alternating layers of gesso and white acrylic paint, as well as spots of color where applicable. By cleansing the surface of the maker’s hand-an act of sterilizing-the artist imbues the head devoid of evidence of technique, to allow pure emotion to speak.

The art of Julie Weitz and Tanya Batura represent some of the most provocative work in contemporary narrative art. They strive to integrate deep personal ideology into a tangible visual framework that can both challenge and inspire us to have a more meaningful understanding of ourselves.