「我的一位美術教授 Bogdan Luca 畫展 - Oneirism 評論」

World According to an Enfant Terrible

- The Cryptic High-Octane Paintings of Bogdan Luca’s Art

OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design - University) Drawing and Painting Faculty Professor Bogdan Luca is having his 2015 Solo Exhibition entitled Oneirism from November 6^th to November 20^th, at 192 Spadina Avenue Studio Gallery.

According to OCAD’s poster, the title has rather an esoteric definition: “Oneirism (onei•rism \ō-ˈnī-ˌriz-əm\) is a state of consciousness in which dreamlike, often disturbing illusions are experienced while awake.”

I have first-hand experiences of Bogdan’s teaching methods. First with his Figure and Portrait Class at OCAD and then his Landscape Class with TDSB’s Continuing Education Program (Toronot District School Board).

In both, he introduced series of fundamental drawing and painting exercises to the students. These exercises are basics, yet they are foundations for such important skills that if one manages to master them, they for sure will alter our own perceptions of art and of the world surrounding us forever, and push us leaping forward!

His new paintings in the Oneirism Exhibition further demonstrated, in the first person, how these fundamental skills can empower an artist to capture and to tame the natural surroundings, thus create illusions which are more real than virtual reality!

[Red Right Hand]

At the first glance, his paintings are total chaos. Powerful strokes intertwined with dark pigments, twisting shapes bursting with raw energy. But get closer, they are not chaotic, all the confusion are contained and re-ordered by the magic of the maestro, distilled and fully charged, like fuel of high-octane!

This equilibrium in fact, comes from the precision of his depiction of the subject, whether it is a human figure or a leaf of a plant.

It also comes from the mysterious flat or gradient surface area on his canvas, sometimes irregularly shaped, sometimes rectangular.

[Myopic Oracle]

Contrast to the wild surrounding areas, these shapes seem almost “expressionless.” Yet, they may contain gigabytes of unknown, unsolved information, just like encrypted computer chips, or magnetic strips. Despite of their expressionless exterior, they may be 10K-fold more chaotic in the realm of quantum physics! Who knows!

[Erin & Bogdan]

This Eneirism exhibition, Bogdan Luca, in his Enfant Terrible style: Avant guard, unorthodoxical, pungent, and cryptic, certainly offers Toronto art lovers a fascinating experience. This is a Must-See Show!