Motion: Philip Tarlow
Detail of “Aspen Creek” (mixed media and collage on linen) by Philip Tarlow
“Watercolor is by its nature a fluid medium. Perfect for making paintings of a creek in constant motion. I feel there’s a dialogue between the watercolors and the oil paintings of the creek; each influencing the other. ”
Carbondale Arts presented “Motion”, a solo show by Philip Tarlow. The exhibition was open to the public on First Friday, August 7 with an outdoor artist talk at 5:30pm with Philip and Natasha Seedorf, whose solo exhibition “Intimate Geographies” opened the same day.
Philip Tarlow had made hundreds of landscape paintings over the course of his career, but this was the first time he has made paintings of a landscape in motion. The water in the creek is in constant motion, rushing and spilling over the rocks, so they are never the same from one minute to the next. Every spring, the snowmelt descending from the 14,000 foot peaks creates a wild, out of control, loud torrent of rushing water. It splashes onto and over the rocks and fallen branches, shooting droplets into the air, following the path of least resistance.
So, how to make this ever-changing creek-scape-in-motion into paintings? That’s what Philip has been experimenting with. The splashes create patterns. Philip loves patterns. His brush began to mimic the movement of the torrents of water. Beneath the pools of water, in quieter spots, are grey/siena/orange rocks, large and small in the creek bed. The creek water above these multi-colored, multi-shaped rocks creates ever-changing patterns. He uses it as a springboard for inventing forms and using colors that emerge in his studio based on his mood and his kinesthetic memory of the many plein air paintings he’s made sitting next to the creek.
From the artist about his “Gaze” series of portraits:
“I’ve loved the Fayum portraits painted in Egypt during the first century AD ever since I first discovered them in the 1970s. I’m also very drawn to the faces in Vermeer’s 17th century Dutch paintings. A few years ago I was into making collages, using old newspapers, maps, and various scraps of paper. I began experimenting, making paintings (some inspired by Vermeer’s faces, others by Fayum portraits), collaging and painting over them. The resulting series of paintings are titled ‘Gaze’.”
“The gaze, that is to say, life itself.” -Giacommeti
Read more about Philip’s process and different techniques in the exhibition gallery guide.
“Motion” was generously sponsored by Forum Phi, an award-winning Architecture & Interior Design Firm with offices in Carbondale and Aspen, Colorado. Forum Phi thoughtfully provides a collaborative architecture and interior design environment, with client-centric and sustainability-driven processes. The team specializes in design-led renovations and highly crafted new builds, with an expanding portfolio of work across the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond.
This exhibition was on exhibition August 7 - 28, 2020, along with “Intimate Geographies”, a solo show by Carbondale-based metalsmith Natasha Seedorf.
Philip Tarlow, Painter, Crestone, CO
“I lived and painted in Greece for 15 years. My work was realist during that period and I was a member of the Athens School, whose common interest was making paintings of everyday life. My paintings from that period can be found in many major Greek private and corporate collections. In addition, my work is in the National Pinakothek and Alexander Soutzos Museum, Municipal Museums of Athens and Volos.
I then lived in NYC, was a member of Fischbach Galley and focused primarily on cityscapes. We’ve been in Colorado over 20 years, where I’ve made paintings ranging from portraiture, abstract collage, interiors and landscapes. I continued to show at Skoufa Gallery in Athens, Space Gallery, Denver and Gremillion Fine Art, Houston.
My work is in many major corporate and museum collections including AMEX, Chemical Bank, Verizon, Caribbean Cruise Lines, Hyatt Regency Tech Center, Colorado State Bank and Trust, US State Department, National Endowment of the Arts Archives, Hirschhorn Museum, etc. My work has been reviewed in the NY Times, Art in America, Art News and numerous Greek publications.”