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Not
Real but Realistic
Alan Gerson Creates
Magical Realism
Story by Debra Kronowitz
Through his vibrant colors, playful themes and
hard-edge compositions, Alan Gerson’s art
captures the attention of both youthful spirits and educated art
collectors. His talent of creating serious paintings with a
diabolical and humorous twist depicts a world that is convincing
and familiar with touches of humor and imagination. It is this
talent that has granted Gerson an international presence.
Gerson’s art is created from how he looks at the world – very
fragile, in his words. “I feel that all my paintings create a
world that is not real but realistic,” said Gerson. “My work and
subjects offer me the opportunity to paint in different mediums
– urban settings, underwater, floral. It’s a magical realism,”
he continued.
His style often combines traditional painting techniques with
contemporary themes and imagery. Color plays a strong role in
Gerson’s work, especially in his floral and underworld series.
“I work hard to get balance in my paintings,” he said.
A majority of Gerson’s work has a deliberate child-like quality
to it. It’s a balance that Gerson explained as trying to keep
the balance between keeping that whimsical light touch of a
child’s drawing. “Clearly, my drawings are not children’s
drawings,” he once said in an interview. “I try to take them to
an educated artists’ endpoint. The paint quality, the
composition, the color selection isn’t child-like; but the
drawing sometimes is – the fattening of the shapes that I do,
that sort of thing.”
The Beginning
An artist and recovering attorney, Gerson received a BA in
philosophy from Boston University in 1974, a master of fine arts
from the University of New Orleans in 1980 and a law degree from
Tulane University in 1989.
From 1980
until 1985 he was the visual arts director at the Contemporary Arts
Center in New Orleans. It was during this time that Gerson began to
pursue his art career.
After practicing law for three years, Gerson realized he was more
interested in the color of the books and table at a deposition than he
was the deposition. In 1992 he gave up his practice and returned to the
art world full-time.
An ongoing legacy of his years as a lawyer is a
series of watercolors poking fun at the legal profession, skewering
everyone from judges to clients, witnesses, juries and lawyers, alike.
Some of these works have been compiled in his book,
Habeas Circus.
“I have an internal drive that I can’t turn off,” explained Gerson about
his passion for art. |
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His work focuses on oils, watercolors and acrylics. He often starts with
sketches and then draws on board and canvas. It is from this that he
actually figures out “the big picture” in his head. “The details have a
way of working themselves out as I go,” he said.
Gerson usually works in series and at a brisk pace. His series’
include Wreaths, Under See, Children’s Hour,
Adams, Eves and Others, Terms of Art and others. “The
Wreaths are circles within circles. They
are ancient symbols that note important holidays and herald the change
of seasons. They are, for me, a symbol of renewal and regeneration; but
like the process of regeneration itself, they take many forms --some
peaceful, gradual and comforting, but others violent, sudden and
jarring. I try to get at this idea in my wreaths.
“Our lives are circles within circles -- the external world of things
and stuff we move in and the internal world of thoughts, feelings and
impressions we inhabit. The mystery of each and its connection to the
other is what I'm after in these pieces,” Gerson explained.
This past month Gerson showcased his new series,
Wild Child, at
the Steve Martin Studio in Miami. The exhibit explores “the underlying
wildness, danger and uncontrollability of man’s basic nature, as well as
its connection to the wildness and indifference of nature.”
Gerson has gained entrance to numerous art exhibitions all over the
world and is represented in a number of
public and
private collections, including LeMieux
Galleries, the
New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the
Meyer Munson Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. He teaches the art foundations
course at Loyola University in New Orleans.
"My paintings are reminders that we are mortal. My work has a humorous
edge and a dark edge, that’s been consistent. I am always interested to
see what my next painting is going to be,” Gerson said.
Gerson is
also a published author. His book,
Habeas Circus: Illegal Humor,
is a hilarious book combining art and humor to illuminate the comical
side of the legal profession. He is also the author of the poetry
volume,
Things We Cannot Know. |
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