Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 9 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
By Rene Ruffner
Rappahannock News
Contributing Writer
Steven Kenny’s brilliant show of paintings at Middle Street Gallery in Washington, Va., on view until March 1, will return you to reality in a new way.
Kenny’s art is eminently worthwhile, and also collectible, as purchasers at the show have demonstrated. Two factors, I think, make art an investment for the long run, and they are often obscured in a gallery presentation; they are a high and consistent level of quality and identifiability in all of the artist’s work, and a high level of production; the artist is good, will not lower standards, and keeps on with a high degree of self-reliance. Steven Kenny qualifies.
Within the show, for me the undisputed masterpiece is “Pppageno,” (No. 3) a work commissioned for a poster advertising a production of “The Magic Flute.” Its composition, colors, values, and craftsmanship are sublime. It reflects an infinite level of care and patience with detail. There isn’t a moment’s wait for an instinctive reaction to this piece — you’re launched into it’s magic at first glance.
In Kenny’s “Madonna and Child” (No. 2) the benedictory pose and austere eloquence of the Madonna creates an ecclesiastic mood which is offset by the much less formal crawling child, a contrast which produces a pleasant and even humorous tension. Even
Review
92.8%