Alexander Motyl Exhibit

The Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation/KUMF Gallery is hosting Elusive Elements - an exhibit of acrylic paintings by Alexander J. Motyl, a New York-based artist, writer, and scholar — and will run until Sunday, April 29.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Alexander Motyl at KUMF by John Pidkowich for The New Pathway.

John Pidkowich: In attempting to gain an overview of the artwork shown in this exhibit, what is your theme or topic?

Alexander Motyl: I began doing a lot of work that was urban scenes/cityscapes, sky, building, window and combination of the sort from about 1994-1998. For a change during the next 3 or 4 years I did a whole series of paintings related to the human body, figures of one kind or another such as torsos or limbs only. In the last 3 to 4 years, I have been concentrating primarily on still life – bottles, round shapes of various kinds. My painting has followed a progressive sequence. The paintings are all acrylic on canvas, not oils and possess simplicity, which places focus on the simple composition, the colour and on the line. This simplicity of painting has been a constant throughout my work during the last 10 to 15 years.

J.P.: Would you say that your paintings are simple in the sense of content without being simplistic?

 A.M.: My works are simple in the sense of composition. A number of people have said that my paintings are certainly subdued, quiet. I would like to think that they exude a certain kind of assurance or even self-assurance. That certainly is the intent in my work.

 J.P.: Do you approach your painting from the perspective of harmony or emphasis on proportion?

A.M.: My approach to work is not with a sense of proportion as there are distortions evident in the subjects painted. What is important  to me in painting is two-fold. Firstly, the composition is very concerned about colours, lines, and about the pure aesthetic qualities of the painting. The theme is somewhat less important for me, whether part of a building or figure, or bottle. Objects themselves are simply the means by which one can express compositional issues the artist deliberates over. Secondly, there is the question of mood in my painting, my work being subdued and quiet … introspective! However, what is most important to me are the aesthetics.

J.P.: Respectfully, do people ask you what is the meaning found in your paintings?

A.M.: My paintings mean what the viewer wants it mean. My concern is primarily to develop an aesthetical coherent and mood-ladden painting and whether it means this or that is really a question the viewer has to decide for him or herself.    

On the front page banner is artist Alexander Motyl