Homage/Sublime
Jeff Irwin and Rex Yuasa
R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Article by Cathy Breslaw
Jeff Irwin’s sculptures are
in stark contrast to Rex Yuasa’s paintings, yet viewing their works together
provide some intriguing contrasts. Irwin’s clay material feels humble and
natural while Yuasa’s paintings use more man-made materials – acrylic, oils and
alkyd on canvas. The surfaces of Irwin’s sculptures are roughly hewn, his
simulated nubby wood surfaces emphasize some textured sawed off “imperfect” areas
while Yuasa’s surfaces are slick and shiny with resin. Irwin’s color palette is
white and off-white while Yuasa’s color palette is all-over-the-place. The
palette used in his paintings represent seemingly all ‘colors of the rainbow’
in richly bright and bold, sometimes neon and intense colors that almost make
you want to look away. Irwin’s sculptures have a humble, quiet, meditative and
focused quality while Yuasa’s paintings are barely hanging on to a sense of
order and composition with their repetitive use of the ‘circle’ symbol. The subject matter of Irwin’s sculptures are
based in the animal world and nature, commenting on the connections between the
two. His 96” x 108” circular installation of many small extinct animals made of
earthenware and glaze, form Irwin’s featured work in his portion of the
exhibition. Yuasa’s works range in size
from 18.4” x 12” up to 48” x 48”, not especially large, but surprisingly have
the feeling of inhabiting way more physical space in the gallery due to their
visual explosions of color and loosely organized arrangements of objects. Yuasa’s abstract paintings appear to be
investigating space. Using similar-sized multiples of three-dimensional circles
in a repetitive manner, Yuasa provide viewers with visual stimulation and a
variety of sensations. The work of Jeff Irwin and Rex Yuasa are a strong
counterpoint to one another, providing viewers with a lot to talk about.
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| Jeff Irwin 40 Extinct Trophies earthenware, glaze sculptures 96" x 108" x 8" |
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