His earliest
images drew on his experience as a graphics designer. Consider his paintings of
huge apples.
Although the apple is far from realistically rendered, there's a commercial
perfection about the painting. The elegantly shaped apple, which dominates the
canvas, is neatly set off by a tri-partite background of red, purple, and pale
blue. All the bases of commercial art have been touched. The image becomes more
archetype than the apple.
"Artists are
born with the desire and the talent to create art without concerns about the
results. What art historians or critics say or write about them and their art
are their opinions, as art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholders. I don't
write or describe my art as I'm always pleasantly surprised and intrigued by
others' interpretations of my art. I firmly believe that even the name of
paintings will influence the viewers' opinions."
-- Rez
His large-scale
depictions of
cakes and candy bars
are faithful reproductions. Yet, the works resonate and take us beyond the
object we see. We bring our own cultural baggage to the picture, of course.
Perhaps our own childhood memories. As we really re-seen the image again after
years of having taken it for granted. Rather than displaying coyness, the artist
has managed to convey a refreshing directness in his approach to his subjects.
He convinces us of his sincerity. There's the innocent fascination for the
objects of the American culture, not to mention the childhood memories of
brightly packaged candies.
Rez's
floral
radiate with bright and bold hues. His travels to Holland inspired him to
interpret the gigantic blooms onto his canvases. Rez compels the viewer to see
the importance of his subject by giving it dominance in his works.
Rez brings
another fresh quality to his art - the joys and perplexities of absolute
freedom.
His style is highly diverse and creative. He ranges from painting
sad-eyed funeral marchers to a highly stylized
still life of roses
and cakes to giant rotating
mobiles. The
variety can perhaps be traced to the unbridled eagerness with which he wants to
create art in his America,
a place he calls "The Land of Milk and Cookies,"
where all things are possible.
Ironically, in
contrast, his highly realistic steel frames riddled by
shooting bullets in his
"Guns and Wars"
series inconceivably capturing the horror and
devastating effects of guns and wars on humanity. Perhaps the first artist to
use live ammunition as a medium to create art that imitates life, to rave
reviews.
His
socially themed shows go beyond displaying his art. Rather, they bring our
attention to the bigger picture and encourage us to think outside the box. His
solo show titled
"The
Chocolate Covered World,"
with live sideshows of music, clowns, acrobats, and marching bands, created a
circus-like atmosphere at the entrance to the exhibit, perplexing the patrons
before seeing the dark side of our chocolate-covered world where humanity
had failed us with wars and destructions, in the hope history does not repeat
itself. The month-long show received wide coverage from local and state-wide
television news
and newspapers and attracted thousands of people of all ages.
Rez's art
diversity continues with his
mobile series, with
the larger ones constructed from metal and smaller ones from foam cores and
wood. They are free-moving frames painted with different images, with the
largest ones depicting the American flag and smaller ones
with other images.
These slow-moving
kinetic sculptures hanging from ceilings move
ever so slowly by the room's air currents, thus creating ever-changing visuals
that give the viewer a different perspective of the painted subject.
One of his first
mobiles as
his college assignment is painted in different shades of reflective paint
illuminated by black lights, creating a mesmerizing display of slow-moving
visuals that glow brightly in the dark.
Rez
has a zest for learning and knowledge.
"When I was in
the first grade, the slogan above the blackboard, 'Seek knowledge from the
cradle to the grave,' has been embedded into my psyche and with my mathematical
and analytical mind made me want to know and figure out everything, continues. I
read a lot from an early age and experimented with electricity, chemistry, and
whatever piqued my curiosity. My small room doubled as a workshop, art studio
and experiment chamber. All the great achievers are blessed with the right
amount of autism. As I read, a person with the right autism is a borderline
genius. Not that I claim to be one." He quipped.
He
is also a writer, producer, director, musician, teacher, fashion, and interior
designer with an eye for beauty and perfection. He can design, build, and fix
anything. His father-in-law told me, "Rez can do anything and do it better than
any professional." He's a family man and philanthropist. His mother-in-law told
me, "Rez is a 'dream husband' and a great chef who
can create and prepare various delicious multi-national cuisines."
"Art imitates
life, as life, at times, imitates art." "There is art in everything we do if we
take our time to see and enjoy them that way."
-- Rez
By: Gary Schwan, The Palm Beach Post Art Critic
