Dame with Tailbone by Rinke.
Okay, enough about downtown Phoenix. While I sure appreciate all the art options in that area, I've been blogging a liiiittle too much about it lately. So here's a blog about someplace else...the land of milk and honey, Scottsdale.
(That last sentence works better if you whisper the word "Scottsdale".)
Last Thursday, I popped into Bentley Gallery on Marshall Way to see "Extra Time" by Klaus Rinke. Born in 1939 in Germany, Rinke has seen it all. And, it seems, he's created it all, too - drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, large scale installations and performance art are all a part of the man's repetoire.
The Last one is Leftover by Rinke.
At Bentley, Rinke showcases "sculptural paintings" which are works done
on canvas that exhibit strong textural elements. Rinke explains it this
way:
"To produce sculptural paintings you need another scale, another
texture. No depth, no illusion: the thing is simply there. Painting is
always about making present an imaginary world. In contrast, the
interesting thing about sculpture is that it really lives. That it is
different every time - in the morning, at midday, in the evening and
even at night."
In other words, Rinke creates paintings that aim to exist in our world, rather than attempt to pull us into their world.
The works at Bentley are large-scale and rendered with dark gray and
black colors. They have a rough texture that looks like sandy dried
tar. Each painting focuses on a simple form and it's a fun challenge to
try to guess what was what.
In the Beginning was the Tear by Rinke.
Of course, having majored in art history, I spied some genatalia. It's an occupational hazard.
"Extra Time" by Klaus Rinke is open through January 30th at Bentley Gallery in Scottsdale, 4161 N. Marshall Way, 480-946-6060, www.bentleygallery.com.
