m e t r o v (auto-expressionism: phase one) portraits 2013-14
DESCRIPTION
A compilation of new, contemporary art works by Metrov including digital and mixed media prints & paintings.TRANSCRIPT
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Copyright © 2014 D. A. MetrovLightmasters Publications
www.metrov.orgAll rights reserved.
ISBN-10: 1499601123 ISBN-13: 978-1499601121
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“#2376 – Original Portrait of the Artist’s Wife.” (2013); Digital Photograph Adobe RGB (1998); 8 Bits/Channel; 3456 by 5184 (17.9 MP); 240 pixels per inch
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The Artist’s Purpose & Mission Statement
“My Purpose is to Propagate, Promote,And Protect Beauty in all its forms.”
My Mission: to fearlessly create Art—primarily, but not exclusively, in the arena of painting—that frees the spirit; that exposes demons hiding in the shadows of humanity’s psyche and embraces them with love; that expands the definition of Beauty in order to help broaden Man’s awareness, sense of awe, and open-mindedness, all so that He may live in greater harmony with His Kind and His Universe.
~ Metrov
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“#2403 – Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Happy about the Previous Evening’s Dinner Party and the Imminent Arrival of Her New Make-up Order It Just Doesn’t Get Any Better.”
(2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“#2402 – Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Forgiving Her Mother Only Moments Before the Woman Died.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“#2562 – Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Wondering Why Her Pantyhose were Eaten by Para-sites.” (2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“#2404 – Portrait of the Artist’s Wife as Sphinx Contemplating the Undimensionality of Polka Dots Scattered Amongst Anti-matter.” (2013);
Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Los Angeles, May 28, 1949, Metrov began his professional life in New York City in 1970 working as a designer/illustrator, then as a Fine Arts painter in a loft studio across the street from Andy Warhol’s Factory. He studied painting with Gilbert Stone, a Prix di Rome Scholar, whose mentor was the late, great Gregory Gillespie. Metrov’s paintings currently reside in dozens of collections worldwide. Patterson Sims (former Curator of Painting New York Whitney Museum), Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger, Keith Richards, Ben Vereen, and Margaux Hemingway are a few of the aficionados who have collected his work.
He left his mark on America’s 1970’s sub-culture as punk rocker, Tony Coca-Cola, singer/guitarist of the Roosters. After ten years, he segued into motion pictures when he realized that films had the potential to be paintings that moved and made sound. After many years in the film business, writing (screenplays & novels), directing, producing—the whole time continuing to paint, exhibit, and produce art videos—he has finally come full circle and returned, full-time, to his first love, painting.
His main influences are Leonardo da Vinci, Chuck Close, Walt Disney, Pablo Picasso, Gregory Gillespie, Jim Nutt, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Frank Stella. (Longer biography available at www.metrov.org/ABOUT.)
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“Her #1a.” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #2a.” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #2d” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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ARTIST’S STATEMENT
“Artists are not Human. A true artist is a juggling instrument, his art a mosh of intellect, emotion, and intuition. No matter what brush I use, my work will always derive from current technology (intellect), my compulsion to engage in the Great Conversation of Contemporary Art (emotion), and the status of my own personal growth (intuition). My job is to blend all that… to make something that provides me and my audience with clues to becoming Human.”
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“Her #3b” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #4” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #4a” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #4b” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #5” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #5b” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #5c” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #5e” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #6a” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #6b” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #6d” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #6e” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #6f” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Her #6i” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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Musings about Automatic Expressionism (a.k.a. “faux bouche” or “fake stupid” or “infantilism”)
I have often asked myself... “What is Automatic-Expressionism, exactly?” “What am I saying?” “What are these new paintings about?” I know that the execution of the work is completely uncontrolled. The actual brushwork is so lame… infantile? I’m just letting it come out, with no effort whatsoever to control my hand… sort of like automatic writing. It’s completely intuitive. It’s very free, uncontrived… honest, in a way, and utterly beautiful. Here are a few other possibilities that have come to mind:
1 — The paintings suggest our human efforts are clumsy compared to Nature’s…
2 — They are an expression of politically incorrect emotions…
3 — They express the unspoken Anguish of Humanity…
4 — They are vestiges of my still-suffering inner child…
5 — They are glimpses of my own repressed angst…
6 — They prove that beneath my thin facade of normalcy, I am quite mad… ?
7 — They hint that we all live with deeply repressed terror knowing we are essentially some kind of microbes clinging to a very small chunk of stone hurtling through the cosmos at dizzying speeds toward a completely unknown destination… quite possibly even on our way directly into the Black Hole that resides at the center of our Galaxy…
8 — They suggest that most humans are dehumanized as a result of their unwitting immersion in today’s media-deluged, material world/market society… or perhaps more to the point, we are not quite totally human anymore…
9 — I have the emotional maturity of a three-year-old…
10 — I am hypersensitive to all the challenges facing Humankind today…
11 — I am simply trying to balance extremes as I am a Hopeless Control Freak…
12 — Maybe they say to the viewer… let it all out… release all that repressed anxiety… and howl to the bloody moon.
~Metrov
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“#2376 – Original Portrait of the Artist.” (2013); Digital Photograph Adobe RGB (1998); 8 Bits/Channel; 3456 by 5184 (17.9 MP); 240 pixels per inch
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“#2258 – Selfie: The Lunar Eclipse Created Sufficient Electrostatic Interference.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“#2254 – Selfie: His Mood Began to Lighten when He was told She had Thought of Him.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“#2262 – Selfie: Happy as a Harlequin Before the Drugs Stopped Working.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“#2264 – Selfie: He Used to Try to Fit In.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“#2263 – Selfie: They Taught Him to Think Before Speaking, and Now He Can’t Talk.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 26” X 32”
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“Selfie_2for1” (2014) Acrylic on photograph and luan wood panel; 96” X 72”
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Mr. William London, Esq. – Rye, New YorkMr. Ben Vereen – Los Angeles, CAMr. Gerald Kushnick, Esq. – New York CityThe late Margaux HemingwayMr. Peter Max – New York CityMick Jagger – London, EnglandMs. Bianca Jagger – New York CityMr. Patterson Sims — New York CityMr. Keith Richards – Geneva, SwitzerlandMr. Robert Zemeckis – Santa Barbara, CAMr. Abel Ferrara – New York CityMr. A. J. Spielberg – New York CityMs. Claudia Ruspolli – Rome, ItalyMr. Andre Farwagi – Rome, ItalyMs. Joyce Ingalls – Los Angeles, CAMr. Jack Ragonese – New Fairfield, CTMr. Bruce Sturman – New York CityMr. Herb Belkin – Los Angeles, CAMr. Menno Meyjes – Paris, FranceMr. Walon Green – Los Angeles, CAMr. Mel Brooks – Los Angeles, CAMr. Edward Pitcoff – New York CityMr. Dominic Sclafani – New York CityMs. Fontaine Murphy – Florence, ItalyMr. Philip Slagter – Los Angeles, CAMs. Barbara Hodes – New York CityMs. Darcie DuPont – London, EnglandMs. Laurie Lazaar – Dublin, IrelandMs. Ruth Hunter – San Francisco, CAMr. Stephen Askin — Laguna Hills, CA
Mr. Robert Glenn Ketchum — Los Angeles, CAMr. Kenneth Harris – New York CityMs. Prisca Balint – Caracas, Venezuela Mr. Mark Johnson – Los Angeles, CAMr. Daniel Carillo – Paris, FranceMs. Christine Campbell – New York CityMr. Carlos Nader Simmonds – Bogota, ColumbiaCount Brando Crespi – Los Angeles, CAMr. Richard Ratowski – Los Angeles, CAMr. Pete Cameron – Los Angeles, CAMr. Joseph Saviors – Pagosa Springs, ColoradoMs. Prudence Warde – Los Angeles, CAMr. Tom Warde – Los Angeles, CAMs. Janet Belson – Sun Valley, IdahoMr. Jimmy J.J. Johnson – New York CityMs. Victoria Golden – Manhattan Beach, CAMrs. Carmen Armstrong – Las Vegas, NevadaMr. Anthony Friedkin – Los Angeles, CAMr. Anthony Perez – Mexico City, MexicoMr. and Mrs. Jay Williamson – Atlanta, GeorgiaMs. Jordan Reeves – Atlanta, GeorgiaMr. Scott Bradford – Atlanta, GeorgiaMr. Russell Broom – Atlanta, GeorgiaMs. Alex Rylance – Los Angeles, CABarry Stringfellow – Los Angeles, CAMr. & Mrs. Bruce Joel Rubin – Los Angeles, CAShirley Corrigan – London, EnglandMs. Carrie White – Beverly Hills, CAJeffrey Felner – New York CityDeborah Bush Whiting – New York City
Selected Collections
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“Head #2a” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #2e” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #2f” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #4” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #4a” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #4c” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #4d” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #4e” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #5” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #5b” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #6a” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #6b” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #6d” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #7b” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #7e” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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“Head #7” (2014); Digitally Manipulated Photograph; 48” X 60”
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Selected Exhibitions
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Artamo Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA 2009Clark Gallery, Mammoth Lakes, CA 2002UCLA Medical Center Rock Garden (permanent since 1998)Belson-Brown Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho 1992Cal Arts Fullerton, CA 1985Hollywood Hillside Exhibition Space, Los Angeles 1981Suydam Gallery, New York, NYC 1978Hall of States, National Visitor Center, Washington, D.C. (permanent since 1978)Benton & Bowles, NYC 1975Benton & Bowles, NYC 1974
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Artamo Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA 2010Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Park, Los Angeles, 1982Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NYC 1977Gallery Espace, Los Angeles, CA 1979 (Two man show / Henry Miller)
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“#2607 – By Refusing to Wear Hawaiian Shirts, He Successfully Transmitted a Telepathic S.O.S. to a Passing Armada of Friendly Alien Starships.” (2013);
Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; approx 28” X 32”
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“#2270 – What Happened to My Harmonica?” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 28” X 32”
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“#2265 – He Wonders if it Would Be Preferable to Play Golf or Teleport Himself to a Random Moon in the Pleiades.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 28” X 32”
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“#2268 – I’m Not Sure What Happened, But I’ve Decided Not To Worry About It.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 28” X 32”
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“#2266 – He had Considered Opening a Hot Dog Stand, but was Permanently Sidetracked by an Unexpected Insight into the Very Same Shakespearean Sonnet which had Captivated him in His
Youth.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 28” X 32”
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“#2260 – They Taught Him it was Wrong to Touch It, So When He Did, He Broke Out with Acne.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 28” X 32”
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“#2271 – It Took Her Quite a Long Time to See the Light Even as Her Father had Predicted.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 28” X 32”
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“#2252 – An Authentic Sense of Self-Worth… At Last.”(2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 28” X 32”
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“#2416 – Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Imagining Herself Barefoot on the Third Moon of Jupiter where it Can Get A Bit Chilly.” (2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 20” X 26”
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“#2437 – Portrait of My Friend Who Went to Hollywood and Became a Legend, then Became Gay.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 18” X 26”
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“#2439 – Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Pretending to Win Her First Academy Award and She Wasn’t Even Drunk… Well, Not that I Know of Anyway.” (2014);
Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 20” X 28”
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“#2550 – Introspection on Her DNA in Relation to a Current Questionable Situation.” (2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2546 – He Decided to be Brave in the Face of Possible Annihilation by a Coronal Mass Ejection.” (2013); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2547 – She Dreamt She was a Matador.” (2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2552 – A Fleeting Insight into the Mesmeric Properties of a Contemporary Market Society.” (2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2553 – She Danced That Way Until She Remembered.” (2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2559 – A Discussion Regarding the Potential Difficulties of Intergalactic Cross-Breeding.” (2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2583 – A Discussion Regarding the Potential Difficulties of Multi-Dimensional Interminglings Particularly During Rush Hour.”
(2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2560 – His Real Anger Stems from Subconscious Memories of His Helplessness and Subsequent Dependencies as an Infant.”
(2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 31” X 38”
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“#2264 – Selfie: The Day He Realized that Emancipation was More Important than His Hair.”(2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph; 18” X 26”
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Artist’s Visualization #1: Large format works in museum or gallery setting.
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Artist’s Visualization #2: Large format works in museum or gallery setting.
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Metrov with 1st Large Format, Mobile-Relief Portrait: “#2404 – Portrait of the Artist’s Wife as Sphinx Contemplating the Undimensionality of Polka Dots Scattered Amongst Anti-matter.”
(2014); Acrylic & Oil Pastels on Archival Photograph and wood panels; 108” X 96”
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For More Information, Please Contact the Artist:
Metrov805.968.2880
805.705.9874 cSanta Barbara, CA
LEARN MORE: www.metrov.org