Rob Tarbell

Flying Alinga Double Jump, smoke on paper, elegant custom contemporary box frame

2013

More A Lover than a Fighter - 2013 - smoke on paper, framed on a contemporary box frame - all archival materials. Artwork size: 30x22 inches Frame size: 35x27x2.5 inches Frame style: black wood box frame, UV glass, archival matboard The Smokes consist of images that are created by capturing smoke on paper as evidence of a transformation and preservation of the ephemeral. During the process, credit cards, gift cards, photos, and even slides of the artists’ artwork are burned to remove their growing presence in daily life, and explore the idea of transformation. In 2014, Rob was awarded the John Ringling...

Venus E, smoke on paper, framed on a contemporary box frame - all archival materials. Artwork size: 40x30 inches Frame size: 48x37x2.5 inches Frame s...

-ARTIST STATEMENT- I depict my person in multiplicity with different selves representing dramatis personae. My likeness is both implicit and symbolic in the portrayal of my narrative; the drama involved in creating art and the artist’s role in society. I use realism to invite the viewer into mysterious inner worlds that are layered reflections of the outer. Dehumanizing environments are imbued with art historical references as a critique of power structures. The artist is an Everyman who is at odds with society and his self. Visually my work is a celebration of society’s dark undercurrents and its overlooked absurdities. I use charcoal and printmaking media as their tenebrous values add a fitting metaphor. The nuances of light and shadow seduce viewers into a world their better judgment would have them avoid. This provokes a sense of disquietude that causes viewers to assess our world through the austerity of a colorless, yet not humorless, light. -BIO- Christopher Ganz grew up in Northeast Ohio and from early on had a fertile imagination and an interest in art. Christopher's artistic education truly began at the University of Missouri, where his love of the human form led to many figure drawing classes and his exposure to the wonders of printmaking. Christopher's then went onto graduate school at Indiana University and a summer abroad program in Italy was a dream realized. Christopher then grasped charcoal with a renewed vigor and large, sfumato-laden drawings ensued. Christopher's artistic influences are many; from a seminal exposure to Dore's engravings of the Divine Comedy, to Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Goya, and up to Lucian Freud, Mark Tansey...

Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves ...