The
“Plank,
Slab and Wedge”
series is the latest example of Jack Reilly’s continued investigation
into pictorial ambiguity in abstract painting. The two-dimensional surface
takes on visual characteristics of a three-dimensional object as thousands
of brushstrokes, painted in acrylic polymers and metallic pigments,
are compressed into linear formats. Reilly's sensual color palette and
signature brushwork has been compared to the complexity of Byzantine
mosaics and the luminosity of Gothic stained glass.
The viscosity of Reilly's paint mixture/concoction results in fluid,
wet-looking and reflective surfaces. These densely-polychromed paintings
are an evolution of Reilly's earlier shaped canvas work, incorporating
a cross-pollination of painting and sculpture. The work reappraises
and comments on evolving issues that originated in twentieth-century
abstract painting and continue into today's contemporary genres. |
