Gallery report

Arriving to the Montclair University Art Gallery, outside of the building, my eye caught white sculptures. They were on the sidewalk. Looking on them from a distance they looked like they were a part of an urban environment. Their shapes expressed movements like they were on the way going somewhere. Some of sculptures looked like they were in a hurry although they were in the same spot. After I entered to the Gallery I learned that these peculiar oeuvres were George's Segal. Walking around through not very big gallery I saw mostly prints from different artists. However, I found couple black and white portraits that caught my attention. I stopped by them for a while finding them interesting to write my art gallery report.

The portraits that I selected to write about my art gallery report are all George's Segal works. Marisol II, 40 ¾ x 52 ¾ inches, Untitled Portrait (Helen IV), 30 x 44 inches, Sophie III, 40 ¾ x 52 ¾ inches and Helen Against Black Wall, 38 x 50 inches, on all of them Segal used pastel on paper. The drawings in this exhibition are all of specific people. All of his subjects were friends, neighbors, and family. I believe his relationships with the people in his personal life were something he considered sacred. By incorporating friends and family into his art, the artist immortalized his subjects. I doubt it was a conscious effort. But this way of working shows up like a repeated pattern. Segal's portrait drawings have a special place in his oeuvre. They lift the individual out of the anonymity of the crowd, focusing on the face without the distraction of the environment. We are looking at a very particular person, not some passerby: black and white, at once complex gradiation and forceful, the face standing out, its wrinkles adding to its drama and intimacy. We are close up, very close up, and experience the face's power. Segal captures the memorable expression that epitomizes the person's character: Marisol's morbidness.

The first thing any viewer would note when moving over to Mr. Segal's side of the gallery is that there is no color. Although that Segal's drawings are black and white, he created incredible oeuvre playing by lines and values. George Segal used tonal modeling to amplify differences in line width to describe the complexities and undulations of from. In drawings he mostly used hatching and cross-hatching to create compositional values, tonal and textural variations. He well played with light using chiaroscuro to create the illusion of three-dimensional form. His drawings have full range of values, he used complete gradation of tones from white to black. Segal focused on faces leaving negative spaces in one color without the distraction of the environment what make the faces powerful. Looking on Segal's drawings that I picked we can sight pattern of using similar techniques and design.

Walking through the gallery staring on Segal's drawings I experienced different feelings. Segal's portraits were on large size so when I was looking deeply, they made a big impression on me and sometimes I could even feel shivers. For example, glancing on Untitled Portrait (Helen IV) I had a feeling that the shadow part of the face has a mystery. So if the person would appear to the light it might show that the person's face has a scars or it is burned. Also, the second feeling that I had about that drawing is that the person will come out from the depth and be mad or surprisingly scare me. I think is because Segal made negative space very black so it creates depth and he drew part of the face with unfriendly facial expression. Furthermore, in Sophia III , she stares out through over sized eyeglasses, directly confronting the viewer as if issuing a challenge. Looking on her I had a feeling that I have done what I didn't supposed to and she is unsatisfied, wanting me to fix it up. Staring on Helen Against Black Wall I hadn't feeling to be connected to the face on the portrait like I had in other drawings. It might be because the person is looking not exactly at the viewer but in different way. I had a feeling like I am staying beside, looking on a person who is resting, thinking about something or maybe watching TV. George Segal's drawing are very articulate and I believe that everyone can come up with their own feelings or ideas.

Concluding, George's Segal works have something what catch attention and I think nobody will pass by without interest. The evidence is that arriving to Montclair University Art Gallery I had to come closer to the white sculptures to take a good look. In a gallery, Segal's portraits drawings made me to stop by and carefully examine his faces. The reason why people find interested through George's works is because he represents very well human expressions and movements and people are likely to observe other people. In my opinion George Segal is distinguished artist and I highly recommend that everyone should go to see his drawings.