Eric Ruschman cleverly occupied the Semantics gallery space with his recent show ‘My Tiger, My Heart.’ He integrated a mantelpiece into his art while painting (and grouping) several empty pedestals of different colors to coincide with his paintings. This occupation of the space and inventive transformation of its resources speak well of his talents.
The subject matter of his paintings is cuteness, using mostly images of kittens and color abstractions. This latter element creates a graphic arts effect, aided by the rounded corners of his works.
Normally, I am not drawn to this style of art. But his is so consciously made to be charming that it resists becoming bad kitsch or some other decorative arts disaster (singular here?). There is adoration and skill in the rendition of his subject matter and a successful balancing of abstraction, illustration and proportion.
I learned that he takes inspiration for his theme from the Japanese, like Hello Kitty and perhaps Anime. I find in this Japanese aesthetic the veiled form of an anxiety about Little Boy (the codename for the atomic bombing). Ruschman, instead, creates an art that is joyful through-and-through.
my tiger, my heart: paintings and improvisations by Eric Ruschman. March 7-28th, 2009
Semantics Gallery, 1107 Harrison Ave. in the Brighton area of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Semantics Gallery, 1107 Harrison Ave. in the Brighton area of Cincinnati, Ohio.
