You’ve seen art with meaning. This is art with feeling. A new series of emotionally charged paintings by Columbus, Ohio-based figurative artist Grant Gilsdorf are highlighted in an upcoming exhibition at RJD Gallery in Romeo, Michigan. Serving as the models in his intimate paintings are friends and acquaintances from within Gilsdorf’s community. In this way, the relationship between model and painter becomes paramount.
Grant Gilsdorf in his studio.“By utilizing people I’m close to, I can direct them to a more honest and emotionally vulnerable place. The expressions captured in my work are not performative, they are genuine. I’m fortunate to work with so many incredible people. It is my hope that the viewer is ushered into the work through that human connection, and once there, they are free to absorb the conceptual weight of the painting,” says Gilsdorf. “These are real people who are offering themselves to be seen and thus transforming themselves into vessels conveying a greater message…It has been my experience that these large notions must be tethered to something we can relate or connect to.”
Balanced, oil on linen, 24 x 18"
Spirit Channeling, oil on gesso board, 10 x 8"
Universal themes of isolation, passion and dissonance can be found throughout Gilsdorf’s series of new works, titled T E N S I O N. “Life rarely fits neatly into definable categories,” he adds. “The majority of our time is spent amidst the tension found between two polarized notions. We’ve been taught to strive for peace and happiness, but our base state is more likely conflict.”
Bound, oil on linen, 30 x 24"That truth was never more apparent than in the thralls of the pandemic. “It may have been the first time ever that the entire world had a bad year. We were suddenly torn from our normalcy and forced to traverse a rarely explored terrain…ourselves. Gone were the convenient distractions of everyday life, and in its wake, we were left with uncertainty,” says Gilsdorf.
In this body of work, we witness characters experiencing isolation along with their response to that isolation, through varying degrees of “inner peace.” Whether the painting radiates with self-confidence, somber comprehension or a strong need for rescue, these works call out to the viewer. They feel alive.
Caged, oil on ACM, 24 x 20"
“Grant is an old soul trapped in a young man’s body, with creative abilities to capture the spiritual essence of those he loves, way beyond his years. His new artwork compels the viewer to engage his subtly created themes, as you actually experience an emotional transition,” says RJD Gallery owner Richard Demato. “He is very undervalued, and an extraordinary artist in great demand, and now on the ascent he truly deserves!”
Fractured, oil on linen, 30 x 24"
3 Weary Graces, oil on linen, 24 x 30"
One of his paintings in the show, Fractured, captures a woman at two different angles, seemingly split in two as if the page were ripped in half. “Transformation is an inevitability of life. We can guarantee the prospect of change, as even on a molecular level, our human physiology is undergoing constant mutation,” Gilsdorf says of the theme of the piece. “The pandemic offered an ultimatum; no one would be the same after it. Traces of before would remain, but something new would be emerging from it. Transformation nestled between two moments. Here we see a woman representing the split of her life before a global pandemic and her new ‘after.’”
Gilsdorf’s alchemy of combining real people, raw emotion and conceptual realism is a powerful elixir. The exhibition at RJD Gallery will be on view from April 1 to May 15. —
RJD Gallery
227 N. Main Street • Romeo, MI 48065
(586) 281-3613 • www.rjdgallery.com
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