Paul Urich - Gone But Not Forgotten
Running: January 8 - Feb 15, 2009
View Opening Night Photos
| "I applaud Urich's nimble gouache application here, the monochromatic touches so subtle and fused to the page they appear like ghostly photo transfers. Each pink piece carries a signature slash or cut, exposing a radiant pulse of neon green or magenta behind..." Read On |
| Driven by the notion that people die when their face is no longer recognizable, Urich haunts his viewers with faint sketches of anonymous folk culled from old family albums. With light pencil strokes, Urich sets tiny faces floating on vast expanses of paper, then overlays them with dabs of color and broad gouache strokes that resemble the bubble and burn of melting celluloid. The result tugs at the eye with the urgency of an image speeding across a rearview mirror. -Flavorpill |
In his finely detailed gouache paintings, faded faces seem to peer from a scrim of time, ghostly images surfacing from the milky lake of memory. The portraits are inspired by family photos purchased at estate sales, and their dated hairstyles and poses attest to the whims of passing fashion. In some ways, Urich has said, it's like he's "bringing back the dead." In "Gone But Not Forgotten," he embellishes some of the portraits with collaged photos or painted-on masks. In one very striking work, a gray and Technicolor skull fits over the searching eyes of a long-lost ancestor. This is memento mori with hope - that you might be memorialized so tenderly. -SF Weekly |
 Fecal Face Dot Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Gone But Not Forgotten, a solo exhibition of new gouache paintings and drawings on paper, by San Francisco based artist Paul Urich. Exploring themes of generation, transformation and death, Urich is widely recognized for his detailed, finely rendered images suspended in vast open space. Combining portraiture with abstract elements, Urich's subjects are often softly rendered as if to suggest a ghostly presence.
Gone But Not Forgotten marks Urich's first solo exhibition since 2007 and is a continuation of his investigation into death, family, introspection and continuance. Sourced from three family albums purchased at estate sales, Gone But Not Forgotten addresses the question of what happens to personal histories when the last surviving family member dies. "The work is my reaction to that." Says Urich, "In some way I'm picking up were they left off... like bringing back the dead."
Paul Urich was the first artist to be featured on FecalFace.com back in its inception in 2000. Since then he's expanded his audience showing throughout the United States and Europe. He's been featured in the likes of ArtWeek, exhibited at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and has work in the New York Museum of Modern Art Library Archives.
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