Transitions

By Bennett Gewirtz | November 17, 2020

For the past few years my work has been influenced by the time I spent in a part-time job at local Home Depots.  As I walked around the store, in my mind’s eye, I saw colors, shapes, patterns, lighting and objects that came together to create what I called a “paintable moment.” I photographed these images with an iPhone and then used the photos as a tool to re-create everyday retail objects as bold expressions of color and composition. My intent was not to portray an exact interpretation, but to create a sense of delight in having the viewer see the object(s) and the abstraction. I seek to maintain a painterly quality to the work, while sometimes using a “mash-up” composition to avoid a realistic tag.

In my art, I wish to express something positive, artistically serious, and perhaps a little whimsical.  But with these five paintings I wanted to use my sense of imagery and style to highlight the unique circumstances of these challenging times.

 

Bennett Gewirtz, “Adapting to Our Flattened Lives,” acrylic, 40” x 30” 2020

 

As the pandemic has stayed with us and our lives are still disrupted, I just finished Adapting to Our Flattened Lives to express the way our living situations seem only two-dimensional now. Watching an early season baseball game was the powerful inspiration for this work.

 

Bennett Gewirtz, “WE HANG TOGETHER!” acrylic, 40” x 30” 2020

 

WE HANG TOGETHER! was the first painting I did during the lockdown. It uses imagery I found in the store. I thought the message of strength and unity was much needed earlier in the year.

 

Bennett Gewirtz, “Gotta Have Gloves,” acrylic, 24” x 36” 2020

 

Early into the quarantine, it was unlikely that people were shopping in the stores and I felt that retail imagery was inappropriate.  Gotta Have Gloves was created after seeing a bunch of latex gloves fall out of the box that I had just opened. I did create a mash-up of my own arrangement.

 

Bennett Gewirtz, “Kills Germs,” acrylic, 16″ x 20” 2020

Kills Germs was an attempt to use retail imagery that was relevant to the pandemic.

 

Bennett Gewirtz, “For the Tasks at Hand,” acrylic, 40” x 40” 2020

 

With a lot of time on my hands, I created For the Tasks at Hand, to reflect on some of the many issues I feel were not being addressed to better our world. Like WE HANG TOGETHER!, it did use retail imagery from the store.

 

Copyright © 2020 Bennett Gewirtz
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6 Comments

  1. Michael Pollack on November 17, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    Wonderful

  2. Maxine on November 18, 2020 at 1:35 am

    Like’m!

  3. Barbara L Bodin on November 18, 2020 at 10:15 am

    Hi Bennett.
    I like and appreciate your work. Glad to see you’re so inspired.
    Rick sent me this link. Write if you can…Barb Bodin

    • Bennett on November 18, 2020 at 5:13 pm

      Hi Barb,

      What a nice surprise. It has only been about 100 years. My email is bennett@ggraph.com. Please contact me.
      Bennett

  4. Raymond Sammak on November 21, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    These are wonderful timely paintings, Bennett. Congratulations.

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