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Robyn O'Neil
Bel Art Gallery, two locations:
Frye Art Museum
Seattle WA thru Jul 30, 2006
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Robyn O’Neil, As Ye the Sinister Creep and Feign, Those Once Held Become Those Now Slain (2005), 5 panels, graphite on paper [Frye Art Museum, Seattle WA, through July 30]
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In Robyn O’Neil’s first major museum exhibition, the young Houston-based artist presents 24 intricate graphite drawings that continue her exploration of humanity’s darker side. Most notable is O’Neil’s ambitious five-panel piece, “As Ye the Sinister Creep and Feign, Those Once Held Become Those Now Slain” which depicts a surreal landscape, filled with miniscule men centered compositionally around a bison which is immense in proportion to the men.
O’Neil’s drawings feature mundane rituals of daily life and the behaviour of inhabitants towards each other and the wildlife with which they share the planet. In her eerie compositions, the notion of death is present. Desolate, snowy fields give the works a sense of hopeless loss, especially in the face of complex modern problems. Evolution and extinction are primary concerns. The disparate encounters of men, their innocent desires and their ambiguous intentions allude to danger and an imminent end. Her scenes have the apocalyptic ambiance of Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, while the invented narratives address very real concerns about humanity’s bleak fate and struggle to survive.
Robyn O’Neil’s work was included in the 2004 Whitney Biennial, New York. The current exhibition was organized by the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston and includes a catalogue.
www.fryeart.com
Allyn Cantor
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Robyn O’Neil, As Ye the Sinister Creep and Feign, Those Once Held Become Those Now Slain (detail) (2005), [Frye Art Museum, Seattle WA, through July 30]
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Robyn O’Neil, As Ye the Sinister Creep and Feign, Those Once Held Become Those Now Slain (detail) (2005), [Frye Art Museum, Seattle WA, through July 30]
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Robyn O’Neil, As Ye the Sinister Creep and Feign, Those Once Held Become Those Now Slain (detail) (2005), [Frye Art Museum, Seattle WA, through July 30]
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