Paintings by Gary Bollenbach
In what style are the paintings done?
Various clumsy attempts at realism. Some take inspiration from photorealism, though none can truthfully be included in that genre.
What was/is the school of photorealistic painting about?
With Photorealism, it seems to me, you either get it or you don't. If you don't, the process amounts to an underhand cheat. If you do, it may be because you appreciate a hard-to-define augmentation which a painting created by hand possesses, and which a photogragh lacks. Evidently the special appreciation I am thinking of is not too widespread, judging by the general steep decline of the genre in the 21st century.
During the heyday, some of the pioneer photorealists seemed to deliberately trivialize their subject matter. Emphasis was placed on the process of imitating, not on the real world subject matter. Whereas to me, the subject matter was the important thing, and as for a camera, the artist is (and always was) fully justified in using it in any way desired, without smirk or apology. Just as with any other tool of the trade. One unwinking artist was/is Richard Estes, whose approach I perceived as particularly honest and direct.
How do the paintings rate on permanency?
1. The foundation (of most of the paintings) is a sandwiched construction of aluminum and polyethylene, known as DiBond, very rigid for its thickness. Aluminum outer faces are approximately 0.010 inch thick. The total thickness is nominally 4 mm.
2. The aluminum face, with its factory-applied primer coating, is sanded for tooth, then a linen canvas is glued to the sanded aluminum surface with acrylic medium. The dried medium is accepted as benign with regard to the canvas, and though its stability is assumed, its long-term service is not essential to the basic archival nature of the painting.
3. Acrylic gesso is applied to the bonded canvas. The compatibility of acrylic gesso and ground linseed oil paint is generally accepted by trade and practitioners.
4. The pigments in all the oil paints used have been reviewed and determined to be non-fugitive in character and in agreement with the quest for maximum archival quality. The pigments contained in the acrylic paintings have been likewise vetted.
5. A surface lacquer has been applied to some of the paintings, chosen for its clarity, strength, and suitability.
What do the paintings look like?
The following pages have photos of the collection. The photos were taken in the storage unit where the paintings are currently located.