Posted on
2012-04-02
Verlato’s dramatic allegorical compositions are rendered with remarkable use of perspective, reminiscent of the Renaissance-era. The show title, How the West Was Won, refers to the culture clash between monotheism and polytheism throughout human history, a battle that the artist believes to be at the very roots of the development of western civilization. In Verlato’s words: “Figurative art is intrinsically related to a polytheistic attitude (cult of idols) while the monotheistic one prohibits graven images, as written in the bible. Monotheism clearly won in most aspects of western culture but polytheism still survives in pop culture.”
One of the paintings is inspired by a medieval legend in which a Christian knight kills a Pagan knight but is castrated by his victim in the process. This symbolizes the loss of “wisdom of the body,” when polytheistic cultures succumb to religious conversion and assimilation into monotheistic ideals. Verlato transposes this narrative into the American Wild West of the 19th Century in his painting Conquest of the West, where a cowboy representing the monotheist attacks a Native American woman, representing the polytheist, who exacts revenge just before she dies. This epic battle scene is the most literal interpretation of the exhibition’s overarching theme, although the connection is looser in many of the other works.
Exhibition runs through to May 5th, 2012
Jonathan LeVine Gallery
529 West 20th Street
9th floor
New York
NY 10011
jonathanlevinegallery.com
