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From: Frank Tobe
Category: Art, Exhibitions
Date: 20 October 2005
Gabriella Fanning, retired editor and publisher of Art on Paper and ArtByte, wrote a review describing how and why Firestone makes his art and included the following:
"Psychology is a subject that Firestone knows well. He is a well-known psychologist whose research has been published widely. As a scientist whose life’s work is to observe and analyze emotions and the human experience in general, Firestone’s dual identity fits his choice of artistic medium. For the digital world, of course, marries the scientific with the artistic. Perhaps the artist’s deep understanding of these two disciplines—Firestone’s parallel careers—is what has propelled him to succeed in creating such profoundly moving imagery. Only a scientist with a deep appreciation for recent advancements in technology could fully be open to utilizing these new tools. Only an artist could use such tools to create visual effects that serve as both homages to and successors of classic works of surrealism by Man Ray, Ubac, Magritte, and Dali. Only a psychologist with years of formal training and practice could so accurately communicate the drama of the mental landscape. R. W. Firestone is all of these: scientist, artist, psychologist. And his art, so multifaceted visually, thematically, and technically, is a complex, engaging hybrid of media, styles, and concepts that is both timely and timeless in its originality."
The forthcoming exhibition in Santa Barbara, California, at the Omma Center of Contemporary Art, will show 40 of the artist's recent works - all archival pigment prints on canvas and fine art paper. The works reflect the complexities of human experience and provide the viewer with emotional, evocative images of people, their bodies, and their interactions.
The show, entitled "Transformations," depicts the transformation of the artist's methods - from oils and tempera to today's digital tools - as well as the content of his works - from disturbed patients and cityscapes to today's life-affirming nudes and communal activities.
E-mail ftobe@theartofrwfirestone.com for further details about the artist or gallery or to receive a press release (with some images) of the show.
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