Art Experience Review

I went to an art gallery while at home and viewed a variety of paintings until one caught my eye. The one that stood out to me was Portrait of my Father by Stephen Kaltenbach because it draws all your attention to it right when you enter the room. It hangs on a wall all to itself because the artwork is so big. The painting is of an older gentleman with a face that is struggling to find life. He looks sad and weak. The painting is in black and white when you first look at it; however, as you stand very close to the panting, you don’t see the image of a face, you see various patterns in light colors and white stripes that look like strings. I thought that the white stripes were actual pieces of string that come out of the painting, but it was just white paint used to bring out the face to show the aging. When you first look at this enormous painting, you just see black and white and an old man that looks like he is barely staying alive. As you look away from the painting, then look back you begin to see a little color come out. The more you look away and then look back at this painting, you begin to see more and more color where you didn’t see it before. The color was in places where you would expect to see it on any other person, in the cheeks, the eyes and around their forehead.
When learning about information about the artist of this painting, I began to understand more about the painting and what it represents and why the artist painted it. This painting shows the struggle with life that his father had to face with trying to stay alive. I can relate to this painting because I had to go through seeing my grandfather fight cancer to stay alive. The emotion in the artwork reminded me of my emotions that I had seeing my grandfather slowly lose life. “Through light, color and pattern, the gestural energy of the Abstract Expressionists is combined with the minute detail and hyper-realism of the Photo Realists. Overlaying the entire composition is a radiant psychedelic tracery that acts as metaphor for God’s presence at death.” This quote from the Museum’s information, located next to the painting. It really describes the image and I feel that it helped me look more in dept at the image. I think that the color, light and pattern that is shown gives the image energy when you think it can’t have any. It gives viewers hope that though the father of Kaltenbach is dying, his spirit and everything he had is still with us.
When I first saw this painting, I was intrigued by the artwork and color behind it. After learning more about the artist and why he felt he painted it, I could relate to it and feel the same feelings that the artist was feeling. I felt a connection with the painting and it made me appreciate the piece that much more.