Michael Berryhill | Island, 2012, book and oil paint, 9 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 4 inches. Courtesy Kansas Gallery
Michael Berryhill | Schmevelations, 2012, oil on linen. 58 x 50 inches. Courtesy Kansas Gallery
Throughout the hallway and larger spaces, several thin, rug-like paintings on canvas slowly illuminate from flat, murky greys to richly-colored velvet. The crown jewel is “Schmevelations.” Two hands—one upturned and brown, the other melting and white—stand like ancient ruins against a feathery bonfire of browns and pinks and neon green. It’s so vibrant that it’s hard not to stare.
While Berryhill has done away with the academic backdrops of his earlier work, the past is still the focus of these paintings. When considering his sculptural ruins and fleshy folds, it’s hard not to think of melting clocks. Sparse paint coverage and parlour scenes recall Matisse. Textile surfaces and central figures take a cue from religious iconography. Ennui is replaced with fervent recycling; time and culture gel, as painting tends to do. It’s not a brand-new beginning, but Berryhill seems to reject that possibility, anyway.
