Bold? Absolutely. Beautiful? Some viewers will no doubt think so. Original? That’s a trickier question.
Nine recent works by one of the region’s most talked-about young painters, Stefan Kleinschuster of Loveland, are on view in an exhibition running through June 4 at the Robischon Gallery.
It is easy to understand the buzz around Kleinschuster, who earned his master of fine arts degree from Colorado State University in 1999 and showed a series titled “Neutral Ground” at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in 2002.
He displays uncommon skill with paint, and these latest canvases are unquestionably attention-grabbing. But determining just how significant and successful they ultimately are is no easy task.
They all depict nudes – mostly men – but not in a classic, old-master sense. Instead, they are strongly influenced by such famed contemporary artists as Philip Pearlstein and Lucien Freud, who have brought a new, more detached viewpoint to their subjects.
Kleinschuster’s paintings owe a particular debt to English artist Jenny Saville, who came to prominence in the landmark “Sensation” exhibition in 1997. She is primarily known for large-scale, unabashedly fleshy depictions of obese women.
All artists draw in some way on the work of other artists, but Kleinschuster has taken such connections much further. And that is the elephant in the room: When one looks at these works, it is simply impossible not to be repeatedly reminded of Saville’s paintings despite certain differences in their approaches.
Such a strong resonance cannot help but be a distraction, hurting the overall effect of these selections. It is easy to wonder if these pieces will not, in the end, be steppingstones to some more distinctive body of work later on.
There is almost nothing about Kleinschuster’s paintings that could be called spontaneous or naturalistic. Instead, the figure or figures have been positioned against an antiseptic, blank background, often in deliberately awkward poses.
That is certainly the case with “Rubric IV.” A slightly hunched-over man to the right side of the off-balance composition is grasping the oversized legs of a woman, whose body is left largely unseen as it juts upward and outside the bounds of the 6-by-7-foot canvas.
Although not always immediately obvious, disproportional body parts are common in these works. Much like mural painters, Kleinschuster distorts perspective to create certain effects, such as seemingly thrusting the viewer into the composition of “Rubric V.”
In “Cusp II,” which looks like a detail of a much larger composition, he has zeroed in so much on the two intertwined figures that it takes a minute to sort out what fragmented body part is what.
This often off-center, cropped effect drives home the obvious fact that Kleinschuster is working from photographs as he paints these works. It adds to the tension already present because the forced poses hint, in certain cases, at violence.
Furthering the non-naturalistic aspect of this work, each figure is rendered in bright non-objective colors – primarily pinks, oranges and yellows. Using a technique employed by Willem de Kooning and others, Kleinschuster applies the paint then scrapes and sculpts it with a palette knife, giving it a kind of stucco-like, textured quality.
In most of these works, the knife strokes have an angular, chiseled quality. But in the three most recent works, the strokes are more flowing and sinuous, a change that seems largely arbitrary and less effective.
Perhaps what distinguishes contemporary figuration more than anything is the strong, explicit intervention of the artist. But has Kleinschuster gone too far with the deliberately forced, obviously labored quality of these works, as impressive as they are in many regards?
No two viewers will probably reach the same answer.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
“Stefan Kleinschuster: New Paintings”
THROUGH JUNE 4|Painting exhibition|Robischon Gallery, 1740 Wazee St.|Free|11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays (303-298-7788 or robischongallery.com)
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SPOTLIGHT ON ABSTRACTION
AMY METIER A veteran area abstractionist, she is featured through June 18 at the William Havu Gallery, 1040 Cherokee St., in her eighth solo exhibition in Denver. 303-893-2360 or williamhavugallery.com.
“IN THE ABSTRACT” This exhibition highlighting three artists from across the country – Lorey Hobbs, Alden Mason and Kimberlee Sullivan – runs through July 6 at the Sandy Carson Gallery, 760 Santa Fe Drive. 303-573-8585 or sandycarsongallery.com.
“DIALOGUES IN PAINT” Wellington artist Jennifer Scott McLauglin, who is represented by five galleries in New York City and elsewhere, is showcased through July 4 at the Sandra Phillips Gallery, 744 Santa Fe Drive. 303-573-5969 or sandraphillipsgallery.com.
-Kyle MacMillan
