 |
|||
|
| MARC DENNIS “Marc Dennis gives a nod to Caravaggio with paintings both beautiful in their execution and haunting in their effect.” - The Press & Sun Bulletin, ‘04 “The most startling works are ink drawings by Marc Dennis, who contrasts ruggedly handsome American GIs with gnarly looking Nazis in a style that recalls World War II-era animations. By enlarging these exaggerated pop images of good and evil, then devotedly executing the details, Dennis forces the viewer to contemplate the mixed messages of war as art.“ - Austin American-Statesman, ‘03 “Dennis' seascape paintings are often viewed as metaphors for the continuum of the present with the dawn of time and the earliest era of creation directed primarily at conventional mythologies about the pristine, ineffable power of the sea.” - Patricia Failing, (Regular contributor to ARTnews), excerpt from catalog for Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, '01 “Horses have the largest eyes in nature, a trait that no doubt makes a lot of people nervous around them. (The exhibition) displays how the horse has been co-opted to suggest power, speed, reliability, status, ruggedness, sexuality and wildness.” - The New York Times, Sunday, Westchester, ‘01; from a review on the exhibition “Horse Tales: American Images and icons 1800-2000” at the Katonah museum of Art “Careful and controlling hands expose the fluffy underbellies of small animals and birds in vivid color. The small beasts are trusting victims. Dennis' work is a small celebration of art and the pain and suffering that is its fodder.” - Boston Globe, '00 “Among the most disquieting works in the show are by Marc Dennis. There are implications of control, superiority and possible sadism that belie the funny titles. These are some of the most effective narratives because the unusual and disturbing quality of the subject matter forces us to think about power.” - City Magazine, Rochester's Alternative Newsweekly, ‘99 "His works beg questions from viewers… Self-Portrait with a Turtle raises questions of vulnerability and control as the artist's hand tips a turtle on its side exposing its underbelly." - The Corning Leader, '99 "Dennis' paintings invite participation and revulsion in an unsettling world of intense and unpleasant emotional pressure. While tempting the viewer to merge with the warm flow of the luscious medium, one is likely repelled by the perverse grins, bad teeth and gums of his subjects." - NY Arts, '98 "Dennis uses mythological and biblical references as well as symbols to examine transgressive behavior...exploring not only the act of painting, but also relevant societal concerns." - New Art Examiner, '97-98 "Using the style of seventeenth-century Baroque artists, Dennis' often surreal contexts are disorienting and forceful. In Triumph of the Human Ego , a five-foot high flexed biceps stands out against a glossy dark background, focusing attention on the tattooed blue flowers of the muscular arm and the arrow piercing the forearm." - Art Papers, '97-98 “Beauty is balanced with ugliness in the eerie but finely made paintings of Marc Dennis…His paintings have rich, glowing colors and handsome glazes, but his subjects are sometimes disturbing.” - San Antonio Express News, '97 “Like the past masters he loves – Caravaggio, Velasquez, Goya -- Dennis is both a social satirist and a deeply interior artist. Looking out on an irrational society, he holds us at a distance with his observing eye and extended arm. - Katy Siegel, (Regular contributor to ARTFORUM), excerpt from web site catalog, '98 "Dennis, drawing on time-tested literary sources, blends biblical and mythological materials in some of the show's finer pictures. Indeed, seductiveness, as opposed to beauty, is at risk in Dennis' revisionist atmosphere." - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, '97 “Inspired by the paintings of the High Renaissance, during the transition to the Baroque era, Dennis uses the methods of the Old masters to create fluid, richly colored compelling images - San Antonio Express News, '96 "Marc Dennis uses classical techniques and approaches from the past, yet possesses an obvious understanding of modernism and a desire to engage the present." - Omaha World Herald, '96 “The irreverence of some artists' works is a refreshing break from the patently banal and basic figuration. Marc Dennis' surrealistic style offers significant figurative representations.” - Houston Public News, '95, (review of “Elvis + Marilyn” exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston) "Rather than trashing art history, Marc Dennis uses it to make contemporary social commentary." - The Berkshire Eagle, '94 "…His paintings offer the technical prowess and skill of old masters such as Velasquez and Caravaggio, but they are frightening and perverse...Dennis's paintings are celebrations of freaks in paradise." - The Forward, '94 “Marc Dennis' paintings, while ultimately redemptive, are perversely exotic in their search for a communal language.” - Art Papers, ‘93 "Marc Dennis draws on art history, particularly Baroque painting to address the theme of violence...As sources for his work, the artist draws on classical mythology, biblical narratives and Native American customs...The results are powerful works that affirm life's beauty as well as address its pain." - Artnews, '93 More> |
Home | Artists | Exhibitions | Gallery
© Copyright 1999-2007 Bettcher Gallery 55th Street Station 5582 NE Fourth Court Miami, Florida 33137 Tel: 305.801.1047 bettcher@aol.com