Mixed Tapes and Cherry Pie is just one tasty title from the exhibition Dialogue, a menu of 24 new paintings by Robert Pokorny at Portland’s Ampersand Gallery. Each piece is an abstract portrait made indelible by the artist’s vigorous construction of color and shape, inviting a lively dialogue with the viewer.
Pokorny turns classic still-life into action with his use of vibrant acrylic hues on tactile raw linen, which creates a contrast between the aesthetic of bright colors and the subtle linen surface. Picasso and the Old Masters are lurking about, but the energy (and witty titles – No Running By the Pool is another) feel very contemporary. The uniformity of the visual and technical elements is accented with the consistency of the format he uses on works from 16 X 12 ½ and 36 X 28 inches.
Dialogue closes August 11, 2019, but the companion book Drawings makes a delicious dessert, and we all know that it is a satisfying meal on its own.
