Wednesday, October 25

The Chapman University Art Scene



Among the many works of art in Chapman University's permanent collection, this painting "Lluvia" by Victor Hugo Zayas is one of my favorites. Formerly hung in the main office of the gallery, it is a painting that immediately calls attention to itself. Both the scale of the canvas, approximately three to four feet tall, and the heavily impastoed surface are impressive. In person the canvas reveals the depth of shadow allowed by the thickly applied paint; a genuine shadow is cast by the exagerated layers. The dark tones help keep the painiting from becoming just another light impressionist study, but the technique calls up ideas of the impressionsits defying traditional methods of painting. I'm not sure where Chapman aquired this painting from, but I like it.