unveiling the crucifixion

8/14/2019 Unveiling the Crucifixion

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The artist at the marker for the highest point in Vestfold, Norway, 1966

Unveiling the Crucifixion - a retrospective of visual responses

by Joe Camilleri

In 1917, the American artist Lyonel eininger wrote that !each indi"id#al work ser"es as ane$pression of o#r most personal state of mind at that partic#lar moment and of the

inescapa%le, imperati"e need for release %y means of an appropriate act of creation& therhythm, form, colo#r and mood of a pict#re'( )n the other hand, *erwarth +alden wrote that

!art is the gift of something new, not the reprod#ction of something already in e$istence('

Lionel eininger& wood %lock print


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The a%o"e #otations from totally different so#rces came promptly to mind when recently I"iewed some preparatory sketches, drawings, and paintings %y -r' .a#l *enrickson at his

residence in /aghra' or the second time I a span of 01 months, we are again hosting apersonal e$hi%ition of "is#al art %y this American artist' Act#ally, the works c#rrently ondisplay area retrospecti"e of "is#al responses reflecting the "ario#s e$periences gained %y-r' *enrickson thro#gh his long c#lt#ral contacts as a teacher and lect#rer and thro#gh his

tra"els and interactions with different ethnic gro#ps in "ario#s co#ntries' In fact, some ofthese works date as far %ack as 199'

This time, the e$hi%ition has %een collecti"ely entitled Unveiling the Crucifixion2 a strikingand capti"ating title especially in a highly religio#s comm#nity s#ch as o#rs' )#r religio#s

#p%ringing and artistic heritage has pro"ided #s with a certain prototype "ision of thecr#cifi$ion' +e are acc#stomed to a tradition of de"otional pict#res where the s#ffering of

)#r 3a"io#r is presented in a calm organi4ed order' Artistic compositions where symmetryand a contemplati"e, dignified style display a profo#ndly to#ching grief in a restrained way' )relse, artists tend to "is#ali4e the drama of the cr#cifi$ion in a 5#%enes#e %aro#e idiom of

"igoro#s, "iolent mo"ement and powerf#l %#rsting energy'

.a#l *enrickson #n"eils a totally different "ision of the cr#cifi$ion' *is concept of the tragedyof the olgota is interpreted differently' .erhaps it may %e e"en dist#r%ing or shocking to

some "iewers, as this is not !the reprod#ction of something already in e$istence'( Thetraditional gentle pathos and restrained melancholy are replaced %y a %r#tal realism' Thecalm dignified fig#re of hrist %y an aggressi"e, !#gly( caricat#re of horror' The faces are

a%normal a#"ist masks which lea"e a psychological impact' The entire composition of the

large painting is en"eloped in a ha4e of %l#ish and grey tints, which, together with therhythmic mo"ement and awkward position of the main fig#re create and optical sensation andemotional t#r%#lence'

8"en the preparatory drawings and st#dies for this triptych with their m#ltidimensionalhatching are im%#ed with a certain e$citing, dynamic and e$plosi"e force' The foreshortened

fig#re of hrist on the cross seems to %e "iewed from different sim#ltaneo#sly impossi%lepoints' Its s#atting position creates a sense of discomfort and constraint'

All this "is#al e$perience of s#ffering is like the horri%le reality of a nightmare' Is .a#l*enrickson concerned and preocc#pied with the s#ffering of the 3on of od made :an and

who end#red all h#miliation to %ecome the "ictim for the sal"ation of mankind; )r does thecr#cifi$ion epitomi4e the harsh s#ffering of all h#manity; Is .a#l *enrickson #n"eiling thereality of a partic#lar drama or is his cr#cifi$ion the #ni"ersal metaphor for the s#ffering thatinnocent people ha"e to end#re; Is the r#cified hrist, like Lo"is orinth


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presentation of some other compositions;

Lovis Corinth: The Red Christ

These #estions are hypothetical and rhetorical and as s#ch, I ha"e no answer' *owe"er, atthis stage, as a side tho#ght, I wo#ld like to hint that for -r' *enrickson, the word aesthetic

has "ario#s semantic connotations' It does not necessarily mean something pleasant,attracti"e, and desira%le' And I take the li%erty to #ote -r' *enrickson& !I m#st now %e willing

to incl#de the #gly, the smelly, the dirty, cr#de and "#lgar=in short, the e$pressi"e'(

or %asically, .a#l *enrickson is an e$pressi"e artist and his creations the o#tward signs, the"is#al e$pression of inner feelings' *is watercolo#rs seem to %e the res#lt of an imp#lsi"e

#rge to create' *is drawings, e$ec#ted with the minim#m of detail contain a certaine$pressi"e spontaneity'

At first glance his collages seem simply a com%ination of geometric elements and aconglomeration of colo#rs' >#t they are la%orio#sly composed %it %y %it m#ch as an architect


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constr#cts his %#ildings or a composer orchestrates his so#nds' And once again, theaesthetic relationships of shapes and colo#r ass#me a deeper significance' The same co#ld

%e said of his enamels so rich and their %right semitransparent colo#rs'

.a#l wo#ld o%?ect to anyone la%eling his nonfig#rati"e compositions as a%stract art' *e hasgot his own philosophy a%o#t the significance e"oked in the de"elopment and interpretationof art %y the coinage of this term' In fact, he emphasi4es the fact 2 and I #ote 2 !that the

work is not a%stract %#t rather real, and the responses aesthetic responses'(

rom this point of "iew thee compositions are a synthesis of the artist< s "ario#s e$periencesof a lifetime' They are the "ehicles that e$ternali4e his inner self, that %ridge his inner so#l

and the e$ternal world'

-r' *enrickson ha also tried his hand at applied art' As yo# may ha"e already noticed, he ise$hi%iting samples of silk "el"et that he has dyed in s#ch a way as to create an attracti"e

shimmering effect'

*e has also de"ised and de"eloped interesting and #ncon"entional p#44les with nono%?ecti"e images and dye c#tting intended as an effecti"e tool in pro%lem sol"ing' -r'*enrickson is more s#ited and in a %etter position to e$plain the raison d


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@golino(& ollection, o4o :inistry, :alta


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The Crucifixion, 2003


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-rawing& >r#sh and Ink, 199

Lithograph& !3leeping >reneiser&( 190 ollection& *aniel Long


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!.acific 5eef(, 196 ollection& 3"erre I"ersen, -rammen, Norway

etching


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Saturn


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!B#ngle ig#re(,1967 ollection& .'B' *off, :eri4o, #am


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Port of Self Portrait:, 1! Collection: "r#$ose%h &uere', &a(hra, )o*o# +alta

Ra%e of uro%a 1-3: Collection: +useu. of /ine rts, Santa /e, e +exico


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The /allen ne

4elsh Landsca%e


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"rain(: To The ast of 52! Santa /e, e +exico

Thrust


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The 6ol7 S%irit in the collection of Rev# 8e9a.in Lar*elier , Santa /e#


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Thrust

The Planet


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)oin( to Seed


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8lue /acets


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;"SRT +L)6T


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&T T6R=)6 T6 R" "R, c#1!-


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S%aces Collection of Province )o*o


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"rain(: 4alter, c#1!>


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"RS CRSS c#1?-


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"rain(: Sullen )er.an

"rain(: PRTRT, CRL CCCL


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"rain(: T=R@S 8T6)

"rain(: )R+ T=R@A


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;C=T R)R< 'ron*e 23 hi(h


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Count Ro(er urtures +alta


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The Red Paintin(


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T4RS, 1!?


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"rain(: A=) 8L) T=R@A


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Colla(e, 2005

S@=LL, c#1?-


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T6 LST S=PPR c#1?-

T6 +RL" )+# 1-3


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"rain(: Aoun( dventurous TurB


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"rain(: Aoun( Conflicted TurB


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"rain(: Aoun( .erican TurB


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6ol7 S%irit collection: Reverend 8en9a.in Lar*elier , Santa /e, +, =S

"rain( cra7on

le9andro 8aruero +arine


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/la.enco


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&C )R=P c#1!>


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unveiling the crucifixion

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