An infusion of poetry, music and reality

A smart combination of ideas and materials creating a mixed media wonderland...Terry Allen's use of diverse elements push the viewer to figure out the puzzle...what is the relationship between the loosly related objects, painting, text and light?

Representational imagery in his paintings are often combined with small lead text panels punched into the surface. These words are poetic and flow through the works...strong verticals and horizontals are cut through by objects, breaking each plane, but remaining balanced...the dark painting in the upper left, along with the two light gray small text panels counter-balance the light and objects on the platform. Visually, you are pushed to the right then swung back to the left by these forms...we group items by similarity in size, color and image shape...this piece does an excellent job of playing with these formal concerns...

Neon parts is parts

Ed Paschke's style and neon heat are so unique...a man who love to paint and was incessant about his exploration of those things quintessentially urban...this piece is especially interesting because of its layering of patterns but yet it is divided and framed with the use of value variation...Value becomes the vehicle that separates and defines, but references adjacent areas through similar shapes and color...the central figure is missing parts or has parts replaced by new, similar anatomy...like a Mr. Potato Head straight out of central Tokyo...it is alive and bright...up all night and looking for action...

He is notorious for using very strong complimentary color schemes, we always tell students never to do this...but Ed Paschke uses color to enhance his concept of vibration and intensity...for every rule, there is an artist who has successfully broken it! This is because the work goes beyond any rules...art work is living an breathing, a contained unit of beauty...This particular piece is iconographic in nature...centered and filling up the picture plane...the symmetrical composition is necessary to balance the intensity and overwhelming color...a brilliant example of defying the artistic conventions...