Benedict Oddi’s gallery show, “Theater of the Mind” at Luke and Eloy Gallery shows viewers a different world.  The imaginative oil paintings depict a fantasy world full of magical elements and treachery.  In his artist’s statement, Benedict states:

The desire for freedom, escape, and exploration influence the narrative of my oil paintings. In my representations, I examine the possibilities of utopia and dystopia through the escapist tendency to create a parallel realism. The crafted pictorial environment is meant to emphasize a disconnection to a tactile reality, where by ideas and experiences are confused, allowing the viewer to assemble a personal narrative. By doing so, the work evokes a feeling of uneasiness through improbability; this imaginary voyage should feel familiar and sublime, filled with imminent danger.

The paintings feature scenes of little characters teetering precariously on cliffs, giant fish hooks dangling from the sky, billowy clouds connected by unsturdy rope bridges.   Viewers find familiar characters in unfamiliar situations, like My Little Pony crossing a river with a dinosaur and a coyote.

The process of creating his paintings is often a very involved process in which he creates preliminary sketches and even wooden structures.  These are also on display at Luke and Eloy.

Another unique aspect of Benedict’s work is the fact that he actually makes his own oil paints, using traditional methods.  You can view a video of this process on his website at www.benoddi.com .

The opening of “Theater of the Mind” at Luke and Eloy gallery was met with a warm reception this past Saturday.  Make sure you get the chance to check it out by February 21st.  Visit the gallery webpage at http://lukeandeloy.ning.com/ .

Tags: ART, luke and eloy gallery

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 7:42 pm and is filed under ART. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.