 Killing Time, Acrylic |
“Life”—
Sam Rein
at Barrett Art Center
By
RAYMOND J. STEINER
ART TIMES January February
2009
IT’S
ALWAYS A distinct pleasure for this viewer to come across a working artist
from the “old school” — you know, someone who can draw, manipulate
a paint-laden brush, compose a motif, vary a ‘signature’, avoid a hackneyed
formula that “sells”…in brief, bring a two-dimensional surface alive not
only to the eye, but also to the spirit and soul. A humanist with wit,
perception, and sensitivity, Sam Rein could not have chosen a more fitting
title for this solo exhibition* since “Life” so aptly reveals his long
love affair with the pathos and bathos of the human condition. This is
an artist who not only loves his craft, but who also is in sympathy with
the nature of being — whether it be person, object, or landscape.
 River View Watercolor |
Some
thirty-seven works — charcoals, pastels, watercolors, gouaches,
acrylics and even a pencil drawing (“Reclining Nude, Head on Hand”) —
make up this show, more than enough to showcase Rein’s versatility in
motif, genre, and in style. As much a master colorist as he is a draftsman
— his black and white renditions are as commanding as are his paintings
— Rein’s eye for transforming the commonplace into vivid imagery
(“Track Three”; “Table Talk Al Fresco” — a charming genre piece
of three oldsters conversing around an outdoor table) is compelling, inviting
the viewer to enter, to participate in whatever is unfolding before the
eye. Especially “present” in their “thereness” — what the early
German aestheticians referred to as the ding an sich (the thing
in itself) — are his studies of the female figure, his skill of
transforming lounging women in various stages of dress or undress (a recurrent
motif in each of the mediums), some appearing “distant”, others engaging
the viewer with direct “eye-contact”, reveal an endearing penchant for
capturing the soft curves of the female form. As enticing as are Rein’s
female nudes, however, even more arresting is his charming “Killing Time”,
a quiet and loving rendition of an elderly woman painted in soft-edge
outline, seated on a bench, her head tilted downward, seemingly oblivious
to her surroundings and totally absorbed in reading a book opened on her
lap.
 Blue Reader Watercolor |
Equally
impressive to this viewer is Rein’s seeming ease of “updating” (or, perhaps,
simply changing for effect) his style from the academic (cf. his charcoal/pencil
studies of the nude) to the modernist handling of, say, “Repose”, a pastel
that reflects a post-modernist influence in both color and form, or to
the geometric “less is more” aesthetic in his watercolor, “Still Life
With Mimi’s Peppermill.” Finally, if one still needed such persuasion
as to Sam Rein’s range of expertise, one might consider that this exhibition
features not only figure studies, genre scenes, and still lifes, but also
a very fine landscape, “River View” (watercolor), that many a landscape
painter might well be proud to include in his/her repertoire.
 Concentration Watercolor |
This
is a show well worth seeing and I urge those who are visiting The Barrett
House’s Annual Member’s Exhibition and Sale, to make sure to take the
time to stop by Gallery Three to share in Sam Rein’s delightful view of
“Life”. Do drop in — you won’t regret taking the time for a leisurely
visit with this “old master”.
*“Life”
— A Solo Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, Pastels and Watercolors
by Sam Rein (thru Jan 10): The Barrett Art Center, 55 Noxon St., Poughkeepsie,
NY (845) 471-2550. A Holiday Member’s Exhibition and Ceramic & Glass
Sale will concurrently be on view.