All images courtesy the artist and Jonathan LeVine Gallery
Weaving dreamy landscapes with nymphic animals tucked away in forests, multi-media artist Andy Kehoe's latest collection of paintings titled Fantastical Romanticism at Jonathan LeVine Gallery spins theRomanticism tradition. An image of a dark forest draws the viewer to walk a little closer, to reach out for a curious hand versus wondering what kind of potential phantom may be lurking. It is a gentle urging rather than a dangerous invitation.
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Many paintings feature a small, fantasy creature with unearthly surroundings towering over him, alluding to the scale of traditional Romantic works. The artist writes, "There is always a harmony and symbiosis between the characters and the natural surroundings, with the giant creatures themselves sometimes acting as natural wonders."
The Hunter
The artist credits an interest in the 19th century Romantic movement as playing part and parcel to his use of nature and dramatic scene-stealing horizons. As Kehoe states, he relishes displaying an aesthetic flush with “individuality, emotion, and drama.""Sometimes the creatures are bringing you into the scene with a straight gaze and other times they are facing away so that you can share that contemplative moment with them. […] I love the idea of a living, breathing wonder roaming the landscape.”
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