Neil Farber

Upon first introduction to the artwork of Neil Farber, one may immediately notice a sense of fun brought on by the cartoon-like drawings and bright colors. When inspected more closely, however, the viewer will find that the compositions often evoke a feeling of sickness or impending doom. Farber's work often employs horror vacui (the often disturbing method of meticulously filling empty spaces), which adds to the darkness and disorientation. In one piece, a sea of people is literally a sea.


Untitled, 2005

In Neil Farber's artwork, one will most often find the repeated motif of a black haired male figure. These repeated figures seem to represent the human condition as an anonymous experience with the goods and bads of life sparing no one.

I am reminded of an image that was on the wall of my childhood home for years and years. It is an image of an acrylic painting by Mark Sabin.

Mark Sabin
Rush Hour, 1979

Though Sabin's piece focuses more definitively upon business men crowded into the streets of New York City, the feeling is similar. The viewer is situated in the midst of an anonymous crowd. Though surrounded by people, one feels isolated and alone.

The repeated male figure is sometimes a Dracula (see below). This is at once hilarious while simultaneously creepy. These denote a somewhat sinister view; that perhaps of a capitalist society where the business-suited individuals are frowning, bloodsucking monsters, only out for their own gain.

Untitled, 2005

The multiplicity of the black-haired male in so many of Farber's compositions may be a reference to our modern, technological age. An age in which there is an explosion of population and where distances between peoples are rapidly shortening. People are crowding into cities and becoming reliant on technology, but somehow there is a vast sense among individuals of isolation and depression. Be it to technology, expansion, exploitation, or trade, there is a shrinking of differentiation between peoples and cultures around the world, which seems as though it can only lead to very nefarious ends.



Untitled, 2005
All images copyright the artist.

Don't Miss It: Neil Farber

New Works

at Richard Heller Gallery

January 5, 2008 - February, 2 2008

Opening Reception: 5 - 7 pm

The Strange and Beautiful World of Amy Cutler

Saddlebacked, 2002

I would like to write today to bring some attention to the artist Amy Cutler. I first came across her when I found Lisa D. Freiman's book (Hatje Cantz, 2006) and immediately I was fascinated. Something about her artwork is so alluring. It must be the combination of the artist's brilliant attention to detail and the peculiar and confounding predicaments the characters find themselves in.
Her characters, all female, are confronted with situations in which they are physically bound to any number of scenarios. Any daily task, whether it be ironing, tending to chickens, or having a dinner party, becomes confounded by the fact that for those involved, one becomes a physical part of any action. The line is blurred about whether the woman or the task at hand is in control. Campers are wearing skirts that are the tents; A face is a potential birdhouse for dozens of birds; Fist fighting schoolgirls are entwined by their hair, as if they are conjoined twins from their braids' growth into one another.

detail from Two Girls and a Potbelly Stove, 2000

Cutler's precisely drawn lines and bright colors aid in illustrating a sense of whimsy. This is heightened by the fine attention to fashion, focusing on traditional and earlier styles of dress.
Whimsey contrasts with an eerie surrealism as one clearly sees the futility or ridiculousness of a given predicament.
The characters' impossible situations are almost real enough to feel and one can momentarily share in sensations of anger, frustration, or melancholy. Meanwhile, the details and colors are delightful and the compositions leave you entranced.

Sweepers, 2001

See more HERE.

First Time

Greetings. This is my very first blog. Welcome.