Works of narrative painter John Hull to be shown at Ulrich
| New York-based abstract artist David Row will create a large wall painting at the Ulrich Museum from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 18-20 as part of his upcoming exhibition, "Ennead." The public is invited to watch Row at work. A reception for Row will be held 5-6:30 p.m. Friday, April 20, followed by a gallery talk. |
Powerfully imagined works of visual fiction conveying tough and realistic but sympathetic messages, "Imitation of Life: The Paintings of John Hull" will be exhibited at the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art through Aug. 12.
Hull will present a slide lecture at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in 210 McKnight Art Center followed by an opening reception 5-7 p.m. in the museum.
"Like Faulkner, I’m always more interested in the people that misbehave," Hull said in an exhibition catalog. "I can’t get past what human beings do to one another."
At the same time, whether the characters are soldiers, habitual criminals, boxers, baseball players or religious zealots, Hull said, "all the people I’ve painted are people who have faith or are devoted to something outside themselves. That potential is something I admire about human beings."
According to curator Ed Worteck, "In John Hull’s paintings the horses are just fine; it’s the people who are rode hard and put up wet.
"There will be no bright victory, just life wearing through," said Worteck, chair of the art history department at Goucher College in Baltimore, where Hull’s work was recently shown.
"What draws us to these images is the beautiful leap any tuned heart can take when paint is applied with skill, courage and honesty," Worteck said. "We cannot look away because there is too much to learn and not enough time to fully understand these stories."
A recent review in The New Yorker said, "Imagine a collaboration between (19th-century French painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille) Corot and ("Pulp Fiction" director) Quentin Tarantino, and you have the basics of what Hull calls his ‘rural American noir.’ With understated finesse, the artist paints a world populated by teen-agers with guns, roughnecks drinking next to parked cars in the moonlight, and drunken women interrupting their husbands’ poker games. The narratives are open-ended but vividly imagined, full of perfect little quirks of light and body language. Not since Eric Fischl’s ‘80s work has narrative painting looked so creepily engaging."
Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and noon-5 p.m. weekends. There’s no admission fee.
– Compiled by Julie Rausch
