NEW YORK, NY (November 1, 2016) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present Unwind the Winding Path, a series of new works by California-based artist Aron Wiesenfeld in what will be his debut solo exhibition at the gallery.
In ominous oil paintings and charcoal drawings Wiesenfeld depicts isolated subjects engrossed by overwhelming terrain. Reminiscent of 19th century Romanticism with its emphasis on imagination and nature’s ability to symbolize human emotion, his indeterminate settings merge both mystical and modern characteristics, such as towering buildings and bridges alongside mysterious orbs of ethereal light. Lush landscapes engulf Wiesenfeld’s contemplative characters as they stare into the unknown distance, inviting viewers to delve into their own subconscious to complete the narrative.
The central theme of this exhibition is finding a personal sense of order in a confusing, chaotic and meaningless world. The title, Unwind the Winding Path, comes directly from the poem Byzantium by W.B. Yeats, which describes unwinding the intricacy of earthly life to reveal a state of perfection in the spirit and the afterlife.
Wiesenfeld elaborates, “The lead players of these paintings, naively, and in the moral clarity of youth, yearn for a similar perfection amid their confusion. In seeking it they come to the boundaries of mortality. Such an ideal state is not of this world, though it can be glimpsed by the mind, as if across a chasm.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Aron Wiesenfeld was born in 1972 in Washington D.C. and is currently based in San Diego, California. He studied painting at Cooper Union in New York City and following a brief career illustrating comic books, he continued his studies at Art Center in Pasadena, California. His work has been the subject of eight solo exhibitions in the United States and Europe since 2006 and has appeared in many publications, including Hi-Fructose, Art In America, American Art Collector and The Huffington Post. Wiesenfeld has participated in museum shows at The Long Beach Museum of Art, Bakersfield Museum of Art and The Museum Casa Dell’Architettura in Italy. His paintings have been used on covers of eight books of poetry, including “The Other Sky”, a collaborative project with acclaimed American poet Bruce Bond. In 2014, a monograph of his work titled The Well was published by IDW Press.