Edward Beyer In the Country @ BAYartsAfter a whimsical wander through the eccentric art for sale in the BAYarts Gallery Shop you emerge from the jumble into a small spare room of thoughtful, maybe even somber pastels and oil paintings by Edward Beyer.
The large pastels are mostly renderings of dark barns and closely-cropped farm buildings. The geometric shapes that depict the structures are oversized and over simplified with dark and saturated color schemes. The very few and tiny windows and other accents give the forms almost comic proportion, as if they could be backdrops for some dark animated feature.
There are also a few large black and white pastels, which picture natural landscapes, and are mostly of rivers and beaches. Imagine a striking photograph that has the contrast increased so there are few grays tones, mostly extreme darks and lights, but the image is out of focus. These are dramatic and haunting panoramas.
A few smaller and more brightly-rendered oil paintings of the same subject matter are also in display, adding a welcome contrast to all the imposing sizes and shadowy hues in the larger pieces. These surreal views have more sense of atmosphere, with dramatic, contemplative skies poised above the uninhabited farmsteads.
Edward Beyer never gives it all away. In the images of the farm buildings, we never see the context; he does not show us the land the structures are built on. The tightly-cropped shapes are the sole focus. As if they dropped out of space and into view. In the landscapes the lack of focus and color leaves the viewer wanting more information. Both elusive styles give us enough to pique our curiosity, so that we can fill in our own blanks and complete the story ourselves. Although the artist regularly paints en plein air, these paintings are from his memory, drawing on many years of observation in his travels throughout the countryside of Ohio and neighboring states. What this artist paints is what has been impressed on his memory as important. The rest is not relevant to him, and there for us to build on.
Mr. Beyer received the “Best of Show” award this spring from BAYarts’ “I Am There” Annual Juried Show for this body of work. The show featured works by artists addressing “place.” Obviously Edward Beyer’s “place” is ”In The Country.”
You can view his exhibit on display at BAYarts until August 6th.
Carol Drummond has been a professional designer for 25 years. Prior to starting her award-winning graphic design studio 15 years ago, Drummond Design, she graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, worked at a graphic design studio, a video production company, and a consumer products company. She has been an art docent for Mayfield City Schools and currently serves on the COSE Arts Network Advisory Committee. http://www.DrummonDesign.com