by donald dusinberre d.dusinberre@comcast.net
I drove across the city to the beach. Between headlights and taillights I saw gas stations, grocery stores, banks, and fast food joints brightly lit in their subliminal languages, all insisting on my patronage. I resisted and trolled a few blocks of half-empty parking lots looking for a spot that didn’t cost any money. I’ll bet that since it was only 8 p.m. on a balmy Friday, the greedy parking attendants considered the lots half full.
Once inside Ocean 60, a foofy (yes, that’s right) restaurant one block from the infinite sea, my eyes were finally able to rest upon something I consider nature. Not the lettuce in the salads. Just above the expensive hairstyles and the din of voices yearning to be heard was the artwork of Devon Thursby. As I navigated the maze of uncomfortably close tables and elbows, flowing representations of trees, leaves, and earthen forms lingered just beyond my reach.
Having graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Devon Thursby is a rising artist whose work is a fresh recollection of natural forms. Presented in an abstracted way, the shapes and lines within his work don’t shout the subject matter, they signal. The collection currently on display at Ocean 60 is called Earth Forms, and it consists of four paintings, five intaglio photo prints, and two lithographic prints.
The paintings are the only works displayed that feature color. Mild tones and soft shapes effervesce off the canvas with a minimum of tactility. In other words, the paintings are pretty smooth, which adequately ties them to the other printed works in the collection.
In contrast, the two lithographs defy the flatness of the paper. With swaths of black and gray tangling behind one another, the images distinctly portray a calm sense of movement, much like the way light and shadow play upon the surface of gently rippling waters. They also recall Japanese ink paintings on rice paper.
Vague snapshots of land and seascapes, the intaglio photo prints are by far the most energetic. They seem to record the history of nature’s movements, like the veiny patterns of a cooled lava flow, or the erosion of earth along the steep bank of a swift river. The small size of the prints serves the images well. If they were any bigger, your brain might be overwhelmed by the information and ideas your eyes try to send.
In talking with Thursby, he confirmed many of my impressions about his work. He relishes the confident chaos that nature performs so readily, while taking solace in the pure calculated reason that is necessary for nature’s continuity. Natural forms have always made more of an impression on him than man-made ones.
I apologize for making your brain hurt, but the work of Devon Thursby causes one’s thoughts to float high. You see, art is not just for the eyes. It is a catalyst for mental exploration. In other words, it can blow your mind. Most art doesn’t do quite that much, and some does nothing at all. Stay away from the stuff that does nothing, and go see Thursby’s Earth Forms.
To learn more about Devon Thursby and stay abreast of future exhibitions and new works, visit his website at www.terraverte.com.
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