Entries (RSS) John Meyer – Truths Revealed
South Africa´s most accomplished realist painter. Aptly titled ´Truths Revealed´, this exhibition represents a continuum of Meyer´s fascination with private and public moments, as well as the influence of the cinema, on his imagery. In these works dramatic, tension-filled, sometimes erotically-charged storylines unfold on canvas, evoking an intrigue that is both visually seductive and psychologically unsettling. The cinematic influence on Meyer´s work has already been well-documented. But the fact that his “screenplays” are placeless in terms of geography, yet identifiable in terms of their psychological sites, raises intriguing possibilities, especially for an artist whose work has been primarily identified with external verisimilitude. “In many ways the surface realism is always a door to the .representation of the imagination rather than a literal rendering of a scene,” explains Meyer. ´Truths Revealed´ explore the darker crevices of human nature. Each is charged with the politics that infiltrate public and personal lives, be they boardrooms or bedrooms. The unfolding “truths” of his paintings lie both in their surface realism and in the underling psychological realities that simmer beneath. |
