2/25/2006

Chris Dorland

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

These are great.
Too bad Merlin James did it first.
And better.

Anonymous said...

oh cmon g.o.m. these are not remotely merlinish.
i dont know this person's work but i googled him:

http://www.marcselwynfineart.com/domestic/dorland/dorland.html

they seem like almost sci fi macro views of architecture and stuff. merlin doesnt do that! these are interesting. my only question is are they as sci fi-ish in real life as they looked on that website?

Anonymous said...

I like this image quite a bit but didn't get much into, or get much out of, the work I saw in Miami at Wendy Cooper and Plus Ultra. Maybe the smaller pink one at PU seemed better.

I see about as much Merlin James here as I do Saul Steinberg, meaning I see little hanky poo people.

Anonymous said...

i saw some of his work several years ago and liked it and it stuck with me but i lost track of him thanks for the link. i'll be back later

Anonymous said...

he's in a group show at sikkema jenkins in march

Anonymous said...

this is an exciting painter real vision and execution a friend of mine in chicago actually put me on to him when he saw him in a show there

Anonymous said...

I stand by my Merlin James comparison. So what if it's a little more sci-fi? It's still tiny figures in washy spaces with brushmarky paint handling and luminescient color.
This is the only 'Dorland' I've ever seen, but whatever...
Are those figures even doing anything? Besides standing there?
Ooooh! Moody!!!
Aside from nothing going on I kinda like the color and composition even tho the strokes are a little expected.

Anonymous said...

Merlin James is good but Dorland has a completly separate vision and a lot more vitality and exuberance in his execution of his concepts. look at some more of his work live and then decide. If you like James you will love Dorland. Give yourself a chance to enjoy something new.

Anonymous said...

merlin james? no. weird comparison. chris is much more intuitive. he works his ass off and the paintings have gotten really good. he has a solo at plus ultra coming up. you should see the work in person. il est mon favori.

Anonymous said...

hey grumpy guy, the little dudes in the painting are just hanging out man, can't you see? the one on the left is smoking a spliff and the other one is on his cell fighting with his boyfriend. pretty obvious.

Anonymous said...

Although I love Merlin James' paintings, I don't see the connection so much with Dorland's work. I am looking forward to the solo you mention at Plus Ultra, WW. I didn't know you spoke Italian. I like the murky directness of his paintings.

Anonymous said...

he works his ass off? b.f.d. why does everyone on this website feel the need to mention that if they know the painter?

Anonymous said...

This site is a community builder and why not mention if you know someone. It is hardly name droping if we don't know who droped the name in the first place. If I was posted I would like to know if a comment was coming from a friend or just someone I didn't know who liked or hated my work.

Anonymous said...

What is ass off and b.d.f?

Anonymous said...

finally,something to realy like-

Anonymous said...

Geh, the space/time continuum of this visual field is EXACTLY remeniscent of a hypothetical 4th dimensional quark, what with the darkness and the scary windy space-glaven...

Anonymous said...

right, I looked at the rest of this work on the website and have changed my position: this work isn't in league with James at all. It's much much less interesting. The image posted here is the best, most mysterious one by far. The rest looks like architecture student output. Every gallery has one of these - Daniel Rich, Erik Benson, etc...
Snore.

Anonymous said...

There is something generic about this type of work, but this jpeg suggests a deftness of paint-handling at least. Could be worse. That's what we should say about generic art - hey it could be worse. That's worth aspiring to, right? I personally have spent upwards of $100,000 on my art education and a decade out in the field to achieve a lukewarm to cool consensus about my work from the anonymous sluggers.

Anonymous said...

these paintings are so boring, so unremarkable. there are about 10 people making work like this. he's just another example of why leaches like simon watson should extricate themselves from the art world. plus he puts beth rudin de woody on his CV, under collections, when she is certainly the kind of person who wants to be referred to only as a private collector. plus he has scope miami on his CV as if it were a group show, not an art fair. desperation, disingenuity, dispassionate imagery, boring boring boring boring
merlin james IS an appropriate reference, and MUCH better.

Mountain Man said...

Merlin James may be better, for sure. Much dreamier and less "hip".

Anonymous said...

what kind of wanker goes around ctriticising other artists bio's? this seems to happen alot on blogs. we've hit new lows of bitterness. bravo kids!

Anonymous said...

it reminds me of Jules de balincourt a little. The critique of his resume is mean. I'm sorry generic painter that you have been harmed by the sluggers. It really sucks. i have no suggestions for you.

Anonymous said...

Jon Both, Scene in Rome, comes to mind. Have not seen this paiter before but I like him. Both and others looked backwards in time for inspiration, I like that this fellow is looking forward and is fresh and well executed. Thanks for the look. I want to see more.

Anonymous said...

the gallery probably wrote his bio.

Anonymous said...

This Blog is not about bio's anyway. So buzz off.

Anonymous said...

Why the hang up on Merlin James? I like James but I like this also. Its not like it is either or. Art and time march on there is real energy, vitality and insight here with a real individual eye for his colors.

Anonymous said...

Why the hang up on Merlin James? I like James but I like this also. Its not like it is either or. Art and time march on there is real energy, vitality and insight here with a real individual eye for his colors.

Anonymous said...

oh, i feel a little nauseous that Merlin James is still being discussed in comparison to Chris Dorland.

maybe maybe maybe the Liepziggers.

Anonymous said...

Ach!
Maartin, you ahr craazee. Zees is not of Liepzig. Perhaaps Duseldorf...
blaaspheemahr!

Anonymous said...

oh i know you're gonna dig some merlin james paintings w/ little figures up now but to head you off at the pass, the whole POINT of merlin james' work is that each paitning is DIFFERENT, one has little figures, ten dont. one has a cut in the canvas, ten dont. one is a pictorial space, ten arent.

Anonymous said...

late response anon - this painting is the best of the lot that i saw in miami at both wendy cooper and plus ultra (actually i don't even recall this being there). the scale of the paintings were smaller than i had hoped for and the generic handling of the paint was ever-present. i like this painting and i hope he pushes his work much further than most of the things i saw in december

Anonymous said...

late response anon - this painting is the best of the lot that i saw in miami at both wendy cooper and plus ultra (actually i don't even recall this being there). the scale of the paintings were smaller than i had hoped for and the generic handling of the paint was ever-present. i like this painting and i hope he pushes his work much further than most of the things i saw in december

zipthwung said...

I'm just a small tiny dude lost in a vast decaying urban landscape. Brasilia perhaps?

brasilia

Let us not forget Giacometti ensconced above the plaza, tiny little existential figures....I saw them on the playgorund, through the jungle gym. Me, I was ditching the playground attendant.

Anonymous said...

you read my mind, brasilia...