Suffer: Theresa Byrnes Doesn’t Take The Easy Way Out
In Section: NY comPRESSed » Posted In: Art, Manhattan
Posted By: Joe Bendik
Also in Chelsea Clinton Times
Sometimes I
run across an artist who is so multi-faceted, involved in so many different
aspects of art and is so intense about the thought process (and execution) that
it takes me a long time to write about that artist. In this case, I’m talking
about Theresa Byrnes. She’s a painter, performance artist, author and provocateur.
Byrnes is from Australia but has lived in New York City since 2000. She
recently opened a gallery/project space named Suffer. This venue is a throwback
to the times when art meant something more than commerce.
There is a
passionate sense of purpose to Byrnes that is rarely seen these days. She
currently has a solo exhibition titled Dirty
Glamour that speaks on many levels: the overall theme is that beauty is
defined not by glitz and bling, but by how nature eventually decays everything
and how that sense of impermanence is where the beauty lies. As she states,
“True beauty is not shiny, packaged, new, modified, augmented but the graceful
death of matter.”
There are
two types of work being shown: mixed media on wood and works on paper derived
from her “The Measure of Man” performance (more on this later). Both exhibit a
complexity and a rawness that is completely stunning. After the events of 9/11,
Byrnes came to the conclusion that making paintings archival, something that
lasts throughout the ages, is now ludicrous. Anything can disappear forever,
without warning.
Her mixed
media on wood exemplifies this philosophy. In her piece “I Hate Roses and the
Sea Ate Me,” based on a weathered, banged-up stack of old plywood (that she
found in her neighborhood), Byrnes said that she had a conversation with the
wood and carefully collaborated with it. Byrnes started by lightly sanding off
some of the cracked paint and sealed it with layers of Estapol, used for clear
wood finishes. Byrnes then painted it matte black. After drying, she added a
printed fabric, continued with splattered black gloss enamel, then let it dry.
Finally, Byrnes applied flicked epoxy resin. All of this works so well because
she never overwhelms the source material with her complex, yet unobtrusive
contributions.
Byrnes’ “The
Measure of Man” performance paintings are an achievement in innovation, deep
thought and sheer bravery. This past Christmas Eve, Byrnes staged a guerrilla
performance piece. Referencing da Vinci’s “Anatomy” series of drawings, the
artist was mounted—nearly nude and spread-eagle—on a vertical circular board on
the back of a truck driven through the streets of the Lower East Side. The
board turned her 360 degrees for a half hour. From the cavities of the mounted
costume, black ink poured over her body and hair, creating abstract images on
paper (placed at the bottom of the structure). These paintings provide a new
definition of the term “action painting.” One can feel the effort, agony and
beauty of the process by merely viewing it; I recommend checking out the online
footage of the performance at theresabyrnes.com.
|