James Maybe

Sometimes I like to think of every painting as a mystery, or perhaps as a crime scene. Something is happening, or has happened, an you are there to figure it out. Interpret every object, every color. What was put in, and what has gone missing from the work? At times a mystery is so compelling you are drawn in right away, scanning the art until you can piece together enough clues to figure out the underlying drama. Other times the mystery is shallow, or you suspect that the artist has put together a random collection of elements, and the search for meaning is like looking for genius in a work by Jackson Pollack. What you end up finding will say more about you than the artist…

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If you look at a single painting by Chet Zar it’s startling and compelling. Look at dozens of them and the effect is creepy and belabored.