Roberts & Tilton’s show of Faris McReynold’s work was not much worth talking about when looking at it next to their last show of Titus Kaphar’s work.  Which, if you follow my blog, you know was one of my favorite shows for a very long time.  McReynold’s works are a bit unoriginal – they didn’t feel like anything I hadn’t seen before – but that does not necessarily mean I did not like them.  I thought they were whimsical and a bit sordid – and that is something I will always enjoy.  His paintings have obvious impressionist brushwork were filled with figures.  I would even go as far as to say that they were portraits of these possibly real figures.  The one I like the most was a group portrait of six women called Parrot Dynasty.  At first glance, it seems like a plain posed portrait.  But then, the more you look at them, the more they seem like overly Botox-ed, overly-tanned washed up women from this wonderful place we call home – Los Angeles.  The beauty queen with a tiara and a bird on her shoulder (wearing the yellow dress on the left) is my personal favorite.  Honestly, this may be the most exciting piece of the entire show.  A few more made me laugh, like a portrait of five younger looking girls – teenagers? – called Potato Eaters 2, one is smoking weed out of a pipe and another has her hand suspiciously up against her mouth, but because of McReynold’s brushwork we cannot make out what exactly she is doing.  Another figure closer to the front seems to be rolling a joint.  Below is an image of the painting The Gamblers which I enjoy on purely aesthetic grounds.  Faris also included a few mixed media portraits of women that were completely uninteresting and uninspired.  Roberts & Tilton may not have hit the nail on the head with this one, but hey, it’s hard to find a suitable act to follow Titus Kaphar.

(read more at AnEroticsofArt.wordpress.com)