The Grenning Gallery is pleased to announce our latest exhibition, Summer’s End; featuring brand new works from Carl Bretzke, Rolf Hellem, and Doug Reina. The exhibition will open on Saturday September 19th, with a reception that evening from 6:00-7:30pm. We invite the public to join us for the opening reception, or to come view the exhibit while it’s on view through October 12th.
As summer comes to an end, and beachgoers reluctantly return to the bustling city, we have pondered what the presence (or lack) of humans does to our perception of an image. Are we the subjects of the portrait or merely another visual feature akin to wildflowers along the roadway? The three artists spotlighted in this show all take unique approaches to their depictions of humanity. Carl Bretzke uses human figures as artistic punctuation, which hint to a larger narrative but leave room for interpretation from the viewer. Doug Reina, often forgoes the presence of people entirely, instead immortalizing the architecture and objects they leave behind. Finally, Rolf Hellem makes human figures the center of his canvas, with character driven compositions that highlight the individual experience. Together, these painters inspire viewers to think deeply about the role representational artwork plays in shaping our understanding of the living world.
Carl Bretzke (b. 1954, Minnesota)
Bretzke’s “Main Street Nocturne” (the banner image for this exhibition) captures a view of Sag Harbor’s Main Street in the early evening, just as the last vestiges of sunlight are fading from the sky. The warm glow of the halogens and streetlights transform a mundane scenario into an otherworldly experience. Human figures appear as backlit shadows, lending anonymous dimension and movement to the canvas. The painting leaves the viewer questioning the exact nature of the moment captured. Is the individual in the middle of the crosswalk merely mid-stride, or are they too frozen in the light of the coming car’s high beams? Is the couple standing in front of Sag Pizza embracing or merely huddling from the wind? Finally, why is the Jeep on the far left illegally parked when there are multiple parking spots clearly available? All these questions contribute to the atmosphere of the painting, evoking feelings of comfort, nostalgia, and intrigue.
In “Waiting for Your Sister” Bretzke’s mastery of composition is on full display. The diagonal swoop of the shoreline encircled by a verdant cove encourages the eye to traverse the canvas in an upward spiraling motion. The colors of the sky are reflected in the mirror finish of the wet sand, the boyish figure in a field of light blue, while the girl is shrouded in the grey shadows of a passing cloud. Here, Bretzke uses human figures as participants in a narrative rather than the focus, the expanse between the two children is ultimately the subject of the painting, one that feels both insurmountable and easily traversed. Bretzke uses the same visual technique in “Last Light Swim”, where the three swimmers are anonymous shadows breaking up the natural beauty of the ocean and sky. The dwindling rays of the setting sun suffuse the cool toned canvas with warm layers of apricot and saffron.
Doug Reina (b. 1959, Long Island)
Where other artists might feel pressure to present an easily digestible narrative within their work, Doug Reina challenges the viewer to unearth their own meaning from his subjects. “Opened for the Season” shows a rear view of single-story green beach house, its white Bahama shutters propped open in anticipation of the summer heat. An exterior door leads down wooden steps into a sea of golden dune grass with no path in sight. To the right of the house, a small patch of white sand is visible with the ocean rising behind. To the left, a light blue A-frame stands on wooden stilts, its windows dark. No footprints, cars, or even pathways mar the landscape of this canvas. The only evidence of human presence are the open shutters and door of the house itself. The exact location of the painting is similarly obscured, the clear blue sky, sand, and seagrass could indicate any number of beachfront properties along the Atlantic coastline. The viewer is left to interpret the scene through the lens of their own experience.
This approach is also extant in “Shack, Left Side View” although here the visible weathering of the channel siding and grey shutters evokes a sense of aging nostalgia. The boarded windows and raised foundation all give the impression of a house standing sentry, awaiting its next season of inhabitants.
Rolf Hellem (b.1998, Norway)
Rolf Hellem’s “Farewell” is a deeply autobiographical painting inspired by the passing of his maternal grandfather. A woman stands atop a cliff, holding the hand of a male child. Another boy crawls over a small outcropping of rocks further back. Far beneath them, a narrow river passes through rocky bluffs leading out towards a Longship facing the sea. Within Norse mythology, these ships signify safe passage into the afterlife. Sunlight splits the clouds in three directions, highlighting the distance between the living and the dead.
“Reflections” has a similarly romantic atmosphere. A blonde woman leans over the edge of a dock, staring into the water below. Her white dress lends the image a sense of timelessness, its style having remained in contemporary fashions for at least half a century. The blue background of the canvas is also left partially unfinished as if referencing the natural haze of human memory.
Lastly, “The Long Row” focuses on a beleaguered fisherman adrift the sea. Full nets of silver fish, highlighted by the dawning sun, reveal this to be the end of a hard day’s work. He holds his oars suspended in the air as he contemplates the remainder of his journey home. Despite the man’s justified exhaustion, he is painfully aware that before he can truly rest, he must complete his long row back to shore.
