The MEAM presents “A Tour de Force”, the first individual exhibition of the American artist Shane Wolf (Cincinnati, 1976). The exhibition, which can be visited until March 27, brings together nearly 200 works that show his new monumental pieces, as well as his meticulous work process.
In this anthological exhibition, Shane has wanted to capture not only the final works but the entire process of artistic creation, from the initial abstract compositional research, the value compositions, the graphic and color script, the research of postures, and the final preparatory drawings. until reaching the finished work. The artist's sample is a representation of the human body in all its realism and majesty. Wolf is a direct heir to the “renaissance”, of the artistic and intellectual representation of the male and female body. Through it, you can capture the power of several centuries of pictorial heritage. The painter's style is inspired by academic classicism that reveres both beauty and balance. Likewise, he is also inspired by a very contemporary gesture, which is denoted in the fierce twist of the contorted bodies. Beyond the models that pose, the real presence of the bodies is strongly imposed. The painting no longer appears as a representation but as part of a reality placed within the reach of the spectators. A realism that is summed up in the fact that Shane Wolf paints from live models, an academic methodology that is scarce among contemporary painters.
Shane Wolf's painting conveys a "tactile" sense of reality. The bodies are materialized by charcoal strokes, touches of sanguine, and scratches of white chalk or Pierre noir. The artist uses this academic technique deftly, combining it with a very bold contemporary twist: the use of dazzling colors. The bluish hint of the sculpted muscles harmonizes perfectly with the golden tone of the skin. The painter uses color in this way out of tune with the sensory capacity of those who observe his work.
In the exhibition of paintings by Shane Wolf, an almost baroque intention is manifested, induced by the size of the figures, but also a theatrical point of view inspired by the paintings of other times. In the elegant perspectives of a decorated ceiling, dome, or skillful foreshortening, the viewer is at the heart of Shane Wolf's work. Because all these intentions, whether technical or dramatic, have the same purpose: to capture the attention of the Museum's visitors. This is because the artist is not only making an aesthetic statement, but his work has such meaning that he completely reconnects with Renaissance thought by placing the human being at the heart of his paintings.
