Travis Collinson continues his investigation into his signature style of spare and oblique personas in his second exhibition at Maloney Fine Art. Utilizing a sparseness of space, form and gesture simultaneously, Collinson manages to compress, through this highly stylized approach—a series of intensely personal and emotionally charged vignettes that function as much as portraits of the artist’s own state of mind and relationship to his subjects as they do the subjects themselves. The muted color palette and truncated bodies also emphasize the strained intimacy that radiates from each of these oddly enigmatic and beautiful portraits. Highlights include the five images of Andy Warhol and the strangely mysterious “Seth.”
Maloney Fine Art
2680 South La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA
Show runs through July 3, 2015
I enjoyed the show, as well as talking with Collinson at the opening.
He has a provocative take on the figure, and his emphasis on particular areas that most express individual identity – – eyes, hands, build, posture – – causes you to carry them around with you in your imagination long after seeing them in their well-chosen scale and color.