July 8, 2003 | Times News
Paintings by artist Victor Stabin will be on view at the Stabin Morykin Gallery, 31 Race Street, Jim Thorpe, beginning July 19.
Stabin uses culturally universal symbols—animal deities, often juxtaposed with chaste girl-children to create environments that are as much tender, adolescent dreams as forays into solitary intimacy. Stabin’s striking realism invokes this series “Riparian Solitude,” in which he explores the seduction of the aqueous fantasies, as natural as the course of water.
The turtle, a revered symbol in many of the world’s mythologies is the central motif in most of Stabin’s work. In Hindu mythology, the tortoise Chukwa supports the elephant Mahapudma, which upholds the world. Native American cultures see the world as a huge turtle floating on the waters. In Chinese mythology, the turtle is one of the four spiritual or auspicious creatures, and represents the northern regions and the element of water. In most cultures, the turtle is regarded as a manifestation of feminine power and fertility. Stabin infuses femininity and water, conjuring figures and surroundings that convey these universal mythologies.
The artist’s goal is to create images that transcend their dream-like qualitites and possess a quirky sense of reality. Stabin notes, “It is this reality that appeals to the collective subconscious—a subconscious blind to class, race, gender and species.” WNYC’s midday talk show host Leonard Lopate notes, “Somehow Stabin’s been able to bypass thinking and paint sweet dreams directly.”
Stabin recently completed paintings for a series of stamps to be issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2004.
Stabin was born in New York City in 1954. He graduated from the High School of Art & Design in Manhattan and studied at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles and the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he later taught.
There will be a reception for the artist from 6-8 p.m. on July 19.
[social_share/]