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Tony Reason @ Shakespeare=B9s
Right now at Shakespeare=B9s Fvlcrvm, a British artist, Tony Reason, is exhibiting eleven works from his series titled Lost Horizons. His works creates an abstract world without the bright hues of such artists as Mark Rothko or Georgia O'Keeffe and her landscape paintings. There is a natural almost real quality that radiates from the canvas. Could it be his use of living materials like rust? It must be because the rust itself generates a life, a purpose. That purpose being to escape from the canvas and move on forward. New Horizons is an accumulation of several small horizontal works made of linen, metal powders, iron and even the weather. Each work produces a different affect from the interaction of the metal and weather conditions. Because of this interplay, the rust takes on a life of it own. It reaches past the horizon line towards the end of the sky. Like O'Keeffe's landscape paintings, these works are quite abstract in a way that it does not appear to be what it is. Only the name of the series gives it away. I marvel at the wonder of what the painting stands for. Is it a horizon? Something that the artist remembered and put on linen?
A fascination with the involvement of outside influences that can be traced to Earth Site Art like that of Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty. Actual Art relies on the movement and metamorphosing of the materials. An inconstant theme develops that is recognizable with nature: plants, weather and animals. His larger panels have been exposed to the weather, be it rain or sun. The work produces a beat up appearance. But, the core of the work is strengthened and tied to the every developing world. I think nature has been a tremendous influence in his pieces. It is so evident that the haphazard array of rust formation becomes an unique force of creation. The artist's brush disappears and the rust develops into a new medium in the art guild. Even viewer participation takes a second seat to what is expected of the work. The rust becomes the prominent "evolvement". This evolvement conjures up a new meaning of aesthetics. The aesthetic quality of the work is challenged. Sure, it has a beauty to it. The rust becomes many different hues and many different forms. Forms that are always modifying. These "unfinished" works can be seen right now. But, go quickly because they are fast being bought. ( I am dying to buy one too.) As an art history student that I am, I am looking forward to see Actual Art being placed in my Contemporary Art section of my survey books. Please go see this show now! It is definitely worth a trip down to Soho. -Renata Bomtempo WANT TO READ RENATA'S LAST ARTICLE? CLICK HERE
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was just walking today in Soho, like I usually do, and as I walked past a
window a certain object caught my eye. Now, usually this does not happen
to me often and when it does happen there is nothing in this universe that
can stop me from going inside this gallery and checking it out. And my
instincts paid off! 
But, as I look more at the pieces I sense a history here. That it has
come through a path to be where it is and it is not finished. A feeling
that I must say does not come through many works by other artists. Pollack
could not achieve this himself. While his works indicated the process that
he "performed" to get the finished product, but it does not
continue on like Tony Reason. Thus, his works has been grouped into a new
circle of artists that the gallery is exhibiting at this moment coined
Actual Art, a new movement that has not ever been seen before.
