Paul Morin
Portraiture -- an image of a human soul communicating across time and space -- what makes a Rembrandt speak? What makes us stare into eyes made of oil paint convinced we "know" that person from 300 years ago? How is the alchemy of an artist capturing and conveying a soul to untold generations of viewers achieved? It was my earliest question and is my constant endeavor.
This current body of work in oil and silver metal leaf attempts to find a language that is both ancient and modern -- a portraiture for the 21st century. Metal leaf connotes religious iconography, but using silver harkens to the early days of photography (silver nitrate) and the "silver screen" of 20th century America. The images are vintage and contemporary. The faces confront and the backgrounds glow like a light that could be sacred and otherworldly or secular and garish. Move around the room -- the silver will pick up the ambient light and reflect it back to you in a magical aura unlike anything you've ever seen. Then stare into the figure's eyes -- as otherworldly as the light around the figure is, the soul of the figure still dominates.
For more information about the artist, please visit his website.