From George Washington’s celebrated portrait to Frank Sinatra’s mug shot, Raymond Logan paints a wide range of subjects with exquisite depth and color. His layered palette resembles sculpture, crafted of hue and shadow. While each portrait in his current exhibition is instantly recognizable, they are not realistic in the truest sense of the word. It is as if an explosion of colored confetti had descended from the sky and reshaped itself into the personification of a human being. All the elements are there, but it is those many disparate pieces that form a realistic whole. Created in oil paint, using both palette knife and brush, Logan’s images are exhilaratingly lovely and magical. That magic is the sleight-of-hand the artist employs, cohering disparate slivers of color into a cohesive image. His strategy employs intensely thick texture and a rich understanding of color. The works have reverence and gravitas, coupled with a lively playfulness, born of both the artist’s execution and the connections he evokes between the viewer and the subject. 

His figures range in size from small portraits to large works. The image of Washington (46”x 46”) is as thoughtful as it is iconic, and the president’s face is flecked in American red and blue to build a surprisingly authentic skin tone. His fierce blue eyes match his elegant jacket. Unlike many portraits of the first US president, rather than a haughty look, his appearance is thoughtful, even bemused, as if he were thinking, “we really accomplished something here—I hope.”

Raymond Logan, Frederick Douglass 2021. Courtesy George Billis Gallery.

There is a similar sense of hopefulness in Logan’s smaller portrait of Frederick Douglass (16”x 16”) , who nonetheless seems to simmer with a fierce strength and burning passion. His hair, rendered primarily in shades of blue, semi-circles his countenance as would a halo befitting an icon. An older, white-haired rendering of Douglass, in a diminutive but powerful 8”x 8” format, speaks less of fire and more of resolution. Among the largest works is Sinatra’s mug shot (60” x 40”), in which a decidedly young performer faces drummed-up indecency charges with a look of pained consternation. 

While Logan creates landscapes that are equally evocative, the current exhibition depicts only portraits of those who have influenced the artist, both highly public figures and personal friends and family. In many cases, the photographs Logan refers to in his work are based on photo shoots he’s staged himself; in others, they represent images that are meaningful to the artist and connect to his own personal zeitgeist. He notes that his work is meant to serve as a “dialogue between the viewer and myself about those shared connections.”

From John Coltrane lovingly cradling his saxophone, to intimate portraits of personal friends—Charlie, Greg and Lalo, as well as Logan’s wife, Julie—the images are nuanced, thoughtful, and above all else, represent a visceral, glowingly alive rendering that reveres some classic icons and creates new ones.