Vestiges repetition the modern clashing even resisting the next, inevitable stage.
Language for the eyes but what is that language conveying?
What if anything does it speak to in our present culture?
There is a sensation of standing on the ledge of a great cliff when viewing one of the pieces. There’s little in the way of texture-of a sort that one could say is beyond the paint. It’s more than that though, it is truly, a window into another world and if one is standing before the window, one feels the rush of blood to the gut because there is a very real edge of reality.
Revival 2015. Ink and stain on paper, 8×10 in.
It becomes clear after only a few minutes of viewing the works that Van has created a language for the eyes. But what is that language conveying? Perhaps it’s proper to mention the somewhat graphic design inspired appearance of Van’s work. There are bits and pieces and even standalone works that feel as though they’ve been commissioned by a company. Indeed, Van has been chosen by several companies for just that, more singular, easy to consume works. So is that same hand at work in his other pieces? Yes and a very loud no.
To help explain, think of those moments when first waking from a dream-your head is heavy with the fog of so much unconscious management. You feel the last vestiges of the dreams who had slipped through your head like sand through a sieve. But there are remnants. You take hold of those familiar parts and squeeze with all your might and try reel them back into your waking thoughts. But all that power would make them real and the same feelings afflict the viewer when seeing Van’s impressive work.
The Harvest 2015. Ink and stain on paper, 8×10 in.
So to whom does the artist work? The critic, the laymen, perhaps both but to stand before a work and place it in a large, amorphous group seems to be missing the point. Who the art is for is irrelevant. The messages in the piece are not privileged or insular in anyway and yet, once you’ve taken in a few of Van’s works you begin to familiarize. It’s not unlike making a new friend: hesitation giving into the adoration of a newfound relationship. Thus is the relationship with Van and his work. Each piece is a friend to the viewer, whosoever they may be.
Guest Author Bio
Steven Van
The fine lines between the reverie and the tangible, a rooted fascination with the visual luxuries of ancient Suessian and a commanding hunger to explore the native charm within the disciplines of the real and unreal cultures are all at work for Southern California-based artist Steven Van. His meticulous draftsmanship and articulation in executing hallucinatory perspective and line contribute to the timeless quality of his visual discourse. Sometimes occupying in surreal surroundings, sometimes poised in a soundless lagoon of negative space, his compositions dictate a distinctive presence wakening the royal breeze of a new Renaissance-era. These finely-drawn works communicate a sacred, time-honored juncture. Devoted to authentic, creative intuition and infusing a native, urban taste into his work, Van’s work is grounded in a diverse range of foundations from Renaissance pen and ink, Surrealism landscapes married with contemporary graffiti and platinum age comic books.
Steven Van was born in Fallbrook CA in 1986, and is entirely self-taught. For the last ten years, Van’s work has been exhibited at commercial, private collections, galleries and museums in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Van has been featured in Art Nouveau Magazine and The Press-Enterprise. Van lives and works in Southern California.
Blog / Website: www.stevenvan.org
Recent Guest Artist Articles:
- "Listen, I Have Something To Tell You"
- All The Art I Will Never Make
- From My Sketchbook
- When Machines Dream
- Why Did A Bored Call Center Rep Turn Her Art into TikTok Puzzles
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