Tag Archives: figurative painting

The Lebowski Cycle – The Baptism of Christ (After Carracci)

Baptism of Christ (After Carracci) • Joe Forkan 2011, oil on linen 24” x 38"”

Here is another painting from the exhibition. I haven’t written much about the process of the last few paintings that I’ve posted, but I will update the posts with more information after the opening. This painting is based on the tradition of Baptism paintings, of which there are many variations.

Baptism of Christ • Annibale Carracci 1584 Oil on canvas San Gregorio, Bologna

This is the smallest painting in the Cycle, and the composition is much simpler than the other work. Initially it was much more complex, with plans for two additional panels, but ultimately I decided the middle panel did everything I wanted the painting to do.

I was particularly drawn to Annibale Carracci’s painting on the theme from 1584.

•

The Lebowski Cycle at The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA • Sept 10 – Oct 28, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10th 6-10pm

•

I will be giving a Gallery Talk about the Lebowski Cycle at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion on Thursday, September 29th, from 7-10.

More info on the lecture and the exhibition is available here:

The Lebowski Cycle – Jester (After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid)

4 Replies

Jester (After Velazquez's Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid) • Joe Forkan oil on linen, 48" x 76" (121.92 cm x 193.04 cm)

THE LEBOWSKI CYCLE – (Wall text from the exhibition) The Lebowski Cycle is a series of paintings and drawings exploring layered narratives, using masterpieces of European art and the 1998 Coen Brothers’ film The Big Lebowski as a starting point. The series is the result of a longstanding interest in narrative painting, particularly paintings from the Baroque and Neoclassical eras; complex figurative works that depict grand story arcs, compressing a multitude of thoughts, ideas and emotions into a singular image. However, it is the human interactions and conflicts, formal qualities, and modes of depiction that were as interesting to me as the specific stories. I wanted to explore these ideas, but looked for a way to mitigate the grand seriousness that historical and religious paintings often contain. I started thinking about The Big Lebowski, (a favorite film, obviously) trying to imagine how the characters, humor and preposterous story arc of the film might be enlisted to explore multiple points of view, moods, and intentions if combined with themes and titles from well-known works of European art. The combination led to hybrid images that reference art history, film, and contemporary art, from sources that inform, overlap and may even contradict each other, all run back through the imprecise language of painting. – Joe Forkan

Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid • Diego Velázquez 1636-1637 Oil on canvas 212.4 cm × 125 cm (49.2" x 84") Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Fifer • Edouard Manet 18 Oil on canvas 161 cm x 97 cm (63" x 38 1/2") Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Detail - Jester (After Velazquez's Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid) • Joe Forkan oil on linen, 48" x 76" (121.92 cm x 193.04 cm)

The Lebowski Cycle at The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA • Sept 10 – Oct 28, 2011 Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10th 6-10pm

The Lebowski Cycle – Venus (After Titian)

1 Reply

Venus • Joe Forkan 2011, oil on linen, 72" x 50"

Here is another painting from The Lebowski Cycle. I was looking at Titian’s Venus of Urbino and Manet’s Olympia. I’ll be posting more on this soon.

Venus of Urbino • Titian 1538 Oil on canvas 119 cm × 165 cm (47" × 65") Uffizi, Florence

Olympia • Édouard Manet 1863 Oil on canvas 130.5 cm × 190 cm (51.4" × 74.8") Musée d'Orsay, Paris

The Lebowski Cycle at The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA • Sept 10 – Oct 28, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10th 6-10pm

The Lebowski Cycle – Sacred and Profane Love

The Lebowski Cycle at The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA • Sept 10 – Oct 28, 2011 – UPDATE

Leave a reply

Paintings in progress in my Santa Ana studio

I’m pleased to announce that I will be having a large solo exhibition of paintings from The Lebowski Cycle at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA from September 10 – October 28, 2011.

The exhibition will be the first show on the fall calendar for the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion and will include fourteen large scale paintings from The Lebowski Cycle, as well as many smaller works and sketches, painted over the last four and a half years. The timing couldn’t be better, as the series is currently close to completion.

The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion is a beautiful 3,400 sq feet exhibition space, that has recently hosted shows by Ron English and Alex Grey, among others. I will be working with Director Andrea Harris in organizing the fall show, and it will be great to see the series installed there.

The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion at Orange Coast College

I’m looking forward to a summer in the studio completing the paintings that are still underway, including a fairly new twelve foot diptych based on Géricault’s massive Raft of the Medusa.

I will be posting process images of paintings from the series as they move towards completion over the coming months, as well as more information about the exhibition.

An exhibition catalog is planned, and more information will be available at the time of the show.

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10th 6-10pm

OCC Frank M Doyle Arts Pavilion

2701 Fairview Rd.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Parking in lot D9 off Merrimac

For info and direction:

alharris@occ.cccd.edu

714-432-5102

Joe Forkan's blog • Notes about Painting

Joe Forkan's blog Notes about paintings and process