November 08, 2012
I am a firm believer that all great things come in twos. Just look at Laverne and Shirley, The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Sony and Cher, chilled vodka and a Percocet. When one is good, its compliment makes it stupendous. If there were two of me, I would have more time to lie about going to the gym, play Madden 13, and I just know I could at least get one chair to turn on The Voice.
It was no accident that God told Noah to pick two of every animal. Our fascination with twins is not a coincidence. We have two eyes, two ears, and two hands and feet, because two is the perfect number. One is not enough, and three is just one too many, unless, of course, you are a tiny hooker in the movie Total Recall.
My awesome twosome theory is proven rock solid at 738 Royal Street. At Gallery Rinard, the whimsical works of two masterminds come to life to create a visual celebration of the places and people that make New Orleans the fantasyland we love. Matt Rinard and Robert Guthrie, Royal Street's Lucy and Ethel of the art world, serve up our New Orleans with two very different styles that tell our story in two very different ways. Two styles different enough to bring out the best in each other.
Matt Rinard spins humor like no other artist in the city, or the country for that matter. As the official artist for the Krewe of Barkus, Rinard's spot-on visual storytelling can be seen beyond the borders of our hometown. Rinard's works are available globally in Australia, Japan, Germany, and France. His works do more than depict something funny. They create a place in time, a friend, a cousin, or a co-worker that we can identify with. Using gouache, a very costly and durable version of opaque watercolors, Rinard creates funny anecdotes that make us laugh at ourselves, as well as the weird guy across the street who is obsessed with Peekapoos!
However, don't let the funny man fool you. He is talented. His pieces have all the makings of good art; from balance to proportion, and the use of texture, but most importantly color. Color is the language in which this artist speaks. It is the perfect language for a city like New Orleans, which is made up of so many colors that it's hard sometimes to put your finger on it. Rinard however, manages with works like "Can't Top This" and "You Made Your Bed ... Now Lie in It", to put his finger directly on our everyday lives. While "Can't Top This" takes a delicate stab at the healthy yogurt - eating world stacking mounds of yogurt with everything from M&M's to Raisinets, "You Made Your Bed ... " pokes fun at those of us who share our bed with our furry friends sometimes to the detriment of our good night's sleep. It's in pieces like "Dog Do Voodoo" that we see his real abilities prevail over the humor. The colors come forward so quickly, that subject matter and humor take a back seat. The depth of the walls and the placement of the colors give us the feeling of being able to look around the corner at the lounging cat, as the villainous dog begins his voodoo doll assault.
Few artists can translate Mardi Gras into an art that does not become boring or overused. Images depicting the main events in our city often times are the same over and over. Rinard takes these same images and mixes them up with humor and a celebratory poke at the way we live in The Big Easy. Rinard is the perfect artist to translate our wild, funny, and colorful side here in New Orleans. So much so that the Navy League commissioned him to paint the USS New Orleans, an amphibious combat vessel that was built here in South Louisiana. When you think of the excitement, the fun, and the liveliness of New Orleans, Matt Rinard and his visual humor should be the first things that come to mind.
In every good twosome there is... well, a number two. Today, we call them wingmen, or wingwomen. Gallery Rinard has just that: an awesome number two. Robert Guthrie compliments the works of Rinard so well that his creations have dominated the real estate at the same 738 Royal Street. Guthrie captures the softer, easier life that exists in our hometown. The most noticeable thing about Guthrie's art is that no matter how many times he captures the same experience, or the same building, his work is fresh and new. This is in part to the fact that he works in two very distinct styles. When an artist masters a style, that artist can paint anything, any number of times making it fresh, and new, and interesting each time.
Capturing the softness of New Orleans and the French Quarter is no easy task. Guthrie's real shot to the heart is that he does it with energetic lines of watercolor that, although depicting something serene, jump off the surface with charisma and charm. Each brushstroke has a personality and his works come to life as one party full of unique and diverse personalities. Guthrie is the kind of artist who represents a city without fanfare but with talent. By layering brushstrokes, we get bold areas that anchor the creations and make them the perfect counterpart to Rinard's humor and color. Guthrie himself is no stranger to color. The shutters and the steps of the French Quarter homes in his creations jump to life. In his creation "Yellow Shotgun", the steps are delightfully painted strong, bold, and very red, with a feel of connection to the actual homes we see every day, but interesting and new. Guthrie's work has a quiet excitement that happens to be a perfect match for the exciting and, oftentimes, not so quiet Rinard creations.
If you have a wingman, a twin, or an awesome twosome, then you know what I mean when I say two is always better than one. Remember the line: when one is good, its compliment makes it stupendous. Stupendous is the perfect word to describe the artistic team of Matt Rinard and Robert Guthrie, and an even better way to describe their depictions of our home, the French Quarter.
It was no accident that God told Noah to pick two of every animal. Our fascination with twins is not a coincidence. We have two eyes, two ears, and two hands and feet, because two is the perfect number. One is not enough, and three is just one too many, unless, of course, you are a tiny hooker in the movie Total Recall.
My awesome twosome theory is proven rock solid at 738 Royal Street. At Gallery Rinard, the whimsical works of two masterminds come to life to create a visual celebration of the places and people that make New Orleans the fantasyland we love. Matt Rinard and Robert Guthrie, Royal Street's Lucy and Ethel of the art world, serve up our New Orleans with two very different styles that tell our story in two very different ways. Two styles different enough to bring out the best in each other.
Matt Rinard spins humor like no other artist in the city, or the country for that matter. As the official artist for the Krewe of Barkus, Rinard's spot-on visual storytelling can be seen beyond the borders of our hometown. Rinard's works are available globally in Australia, Japan, Germany, and France. His works do more than depict something funny. They create a place in time, a friend, a cousin, or a co-worker that we can identify with. Using gouache, a very costly and durable version of opaque watercolors, Rinard creates funny anecdotes that make us laugh at ourselves, as well as the weird guy across the street who is obsessed with Peekapoos!
However, don't let the funny man fool you. He is talented. His pieces have all the makings of good art; from balance to proportion, and the use of texture, but most importantly color. Color is the language in which this artist speaks. It is the perfect language for a city like New Orleans, which is made up of so many colors that it's hard sometimes to put your finger on it. Rinard however, manages with works like "Can't Top This" and "You Made Your Bed ... Now Lie in It", to put his finger directly on our everyday lives. While "Can't Top This" takes a delicate stab at the healthy yogurt - eating world stacking mounds of yogurt with everything from M&M's to Raisinets, "You Made Your Bed ... " pokes fun at those of us who share our bed with our furry friends sometimes to the detriment of our good night's sleep. It's in pieces like "Dog Do Voodoo" that we see his real abilities prevail over the humor. The colors come forward so quickly, that subject matter and humor take a back seat. The depth of the walls and the placement of the colors give us the feeling of being able to look around the corner at the lounging cat, as the villainous dog begins his voodoo doll assault.
Few artists can translate Mardi Gras into an art that does not become boring or overused. Images depicting the main events in our city often times are the same over and over. Rinard takes these same images and mixes them up with humor and a celebratory poke at the way we live in The Big Easy. Rinard is the perfect artist to translate our wild, funny, and colorful side here in New Orleans. So much so that the Navy League commissioned him to paint the USS New Orleans, an amphibious combat vessel that was built here in South Louisiana. When you think of the excitement, the fun, and the liveliness of New Orleans, Matt Rinard and his visual humor should be the first things that come to mind.
In every good twosome there is... well, a number two. Today, we call them wingmen, or wingwomen. Gallery Rinard has just that: an awesome number two. Robert Guthrie compliments the works of Rinard so well that his creations have dominated the real estate at the same 738 Royal Street. Guthrie captures the softer, easier life that exists in our hometown. The most noticeable thing about Guthrie's art is that no matter how many times he captures the same experience, or the same building, his work is fresh and new. This is in part to the fact that he works in two very distinct styles. When an artist masters a style, that artist can paint anything, any number of times making it fresh, and new, and interesting each time.
Capturing the softness of New Orleans and the French Quarter is no easy task. Guthrie's real shot to the heart is that he does it with energetic lines of watercolor that, although depicting something serene, jump off the surface with charisma and charm. Each brushstroke has a personality and his works come to life as one party full of unique and diverse personalities. Guthrie is the kind of artist who represents a city without fanfare but with talent. By layering brushstrokes, we get bold areas that anchor the creations and make them the perfect counterpart to Rinard's humor and color. Guthrie himself is no stranger to color. The shutters and the steps of the French Quarter homes in his creations jump to life. In his creation "Yellow Shotgun", the steps are delightfully painted strong, bold, and very red, with a feel of connection to the actual homes we see every day, but interesting and new. Guthrie's work has a quiet excitement that happens to be a perfect match for the exciting and, oftentimes, not so quiet Rinard creations.
If you have a wingman, a twin, or an awesome twosome, then you know what I mean when I say two is always better than one. Remember the line: when one is good, its compliment makes it stupendous. Stupendous is the perfect word to describe the artistic team of Matt Rinard and Robert Guthrie, and an even better way to describe their depictions of our home, the French Quarter.
