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Indepth Arts News:
"Inscapes: Illuminated Passages by Brian Portman"
2000-09-14 until 2000-11-26
Museum of Fine Art Houston, Glassell School of Art
Houston, TX,
USA
Paintings by Brian Portman (born 1960) depict vast,
unending passages that combine abstract form,
emotional tonalities, and references to natural motifs
such as landscape, ocean, and lush flora. His
“inscapes” delve into the essence of things with a
melancholy darkness and density that contrast with an
uplifting light and transparency.
The artist achieves an
exquisite luminosity and texture through gestural brush
strokes and irregular grounds created from layering a
mélange of materials. His richly colored work, often in
dark tones applied in multiple layers against a
background of submerged light, encourages the viewer
to seek out the light source that travels deep into the
foundation.
The Houston-based artist created new, site-specific
works for this exhibition. Of particular note, Portman
integrated a monumental ceiling painting into the
33-foot-high arched atrium of the Glassell School. Lit
from the back, the work hovers in space and represents
a culmination of a dream for Portman, who was a fellow
in the Core Residency Program at the
Glassell School of Art from 1983 to 1985.
IMAGE:
Brian Portman,
Untitled #2 , 2000,
oil and acrylic on
canvas,
collection of Margarida and Penn
Williamson, Houston.
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