Left: Sharon Florin, Easter Bonnet (2003), Oil on canvas, 36” x 24”; Right: Allan Gorman, Z Line Zs (2017), Oil on linen, 64” x 52”
Porter Advisory is pleased to present works by Sharon Florin and Allan Gorman in Seduced by Steel, Glass & Concrete opening at The Yard: City Hall Park, 116 Nassau Street with a reception with the artists on Thursday, May 17, 2018 from 6 - 8 PM.
Through shared themes of the industrial, mechanical and architectural, Florin and Gorman explore the seduction of the city by rendering unmistakeable depictions of objects and buildings and distorting and decontextualizing them through seemingly naturalistic means such as reflection, shadow and forced perspective. While implementing a realistic style, each artist fragments the subject to a point verging on abstraction.
“There is a delicate interplay between realism and abstraction in these works that compels the viewer to see things with a new perspective” says the exhibition’s curator, Jessica L. Porter. The location of this exhibition is key as well, in the heart of downtown Manhattan where the small winding streets and skyscrapers mingle in a unique way to the city.
The works of these two artists co-mingle well while sustaining their independent style and vision. Florin uses the shadows against buildings and windows of skyscrapers not only to create a larger sense of scope and a way of tying together the past, present, and future of NYC, but also to give monumental, hulking skyscrapers a sense of dynamism and animation. Florin sees New York City, the main focal point of her artwork, as an ever evolving chimerical entity. To depict this properly, she shows this as an amalgam of overlaid silhouettes and reflections.
At the same time, Gorman similarly uses light to give his stationary and metallic subject matter a kinetic sense. However, instead of reflection (which he still employs, but less than Florin,) Gorman implements shadow and frenetically overlapping components. They give Gorman’s paintings a sense of chaotic fluidity, as well as breaking up the composition into dynamic geometric shapes. The energeticness of Gorman’s canvases allows for the work to be exploratory, encouraging the viewer to go on a journey through each painstakingly rendered detail and intricate design.
The works in Seduced by Steel, Glass & Concrete by Sharon Florin and Allan Gorman turn monolithic, heavy, and sedentary objects and places into animated, lively beings for everyone to enjoy.