Under the bracing waters of Lake Michigan, Zack Zdrale found the same feeling he has while working in his studio.
“It’s quiet down there, and my mind can rest, then ideas emerged, and that’s when things started to kind of coalesce for me,” says Zdrale. “I realized that the studio for me is very much like being underwater…they’re both a place of meditation and quiet. But there’s music there.”
Zack Zdrale, Mars, oil on aluminum panel, 32 x 34 in.
Zdrale’s upcoming show, titled In Water, will open in October at Abend Gallery in Denver. However, the title won't fully make sense if viewers only look at the strained figures and bright strokes of red present in the artist's new paintings, unless they jump into the mind of the artist.
Underwater, Zdrale started thinking about the subconscious. “Water and shadows are metaphors for the subconscious mind, and that’s where a lot of my imagery comes from, and takes place in,” says Zdrale.
Zack Zdrale, Clarity, oil on aluminum panel, 11 x 14 in.
“There’s a turbulent surface, and there are textures, and it’s very active. Then the shadows are like this deep, kind of refuge, which very much contrasts the surface, and I’m now seeing that it’s about the deep shadows and the abstract quality of their simplicity where I can lose a lot of information.”
The paintings in this show are calmer than his previous work. In part, it’s a reflection of the artist’s life at the moment but also due to a different technique. “Usually, you have more information in the light side of the form and less in the shadows. That’s always been the way I’ve worked, but [now]I’m pushing it way beyond,” he says.
Zack Zdrale, Falls on Our Shoulders, oil on aluminum panel, 36 x 32 in.
“I’m enjoying putting these together, just slapping some thick paint down rather than scrubbing it in, but keeping the color transparent. They become these pools. It’s like looking into a pond or a lake.”
In his past work, the figures in Zdrale’s paintings were always active, straining against gravity and other forces. However, in this show, he says the figures too have calmed down.
“There are still some that are a little more active…and I know they seem very energetic and expressive, but to me they’re not. They’re more still, or in the process of settling,” he explains. “There’s more peace…like with Mars, it’s maybe the weirdest one in the show. It was inspired by Velázquez’s Mars Resting…but the whole idea came from how my dog looks at me. They kind of put their noses down and look up at you, because they’re not looking at you like a predator. It’s trust, and I felt like the figures are trusting me now and there’s less of a fight.”
Stickman, oil on aluminum panel, 12 x 111/2 in.
The works in the show center around resting, and for the artist that means quiet, not being pulled in any direction by unseen forces, and settling to let their thoughts flow freely.
“Often painting itself is rest,” he says. “And for the figures, they’re at rest in the way that there’s no tension or resistance that they’re actively pushing or pulling against.”
In Water opens October 16 and runs through the end of the month. —
Abend Gallery 1261 Delaware Street, Suite 2 • Denver, CO 80204 • (303) 355-0950 • www.abendgallery.com
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