Curator Statement:
You don’t have to be Picasso or Rembrandt to create something. The fun of it, the joy of creating, is way
high above anything else to do with the art form.
-Chick Corea
It’s wonderful seeing such refreshing work from a young artist. What might appear as simple expressions
are indeed much more — these are heart felt paintings.
I see two groups of work with distinct themes making up this exhibition.
One group suggests a social outlook, embracing and appropriating from pop culture, anime and imagery
found on the internet. This group is dominated by colorful paintings of cats that celebrate the lighter side
of life.
The painting A Cat Enjoying the Winter Season, 2022 from this group relates pictorially to New York artist
Ann Cravin’s painting Kitty (on Blue), 2020. Timeout described Cravin’s show which explored similar
themes as an “adorable menagerie of cutesy animal paintings: soft pandas, kittens playing in the
grass…”, and concluded with, “But there’s more to it.”
The other group feels more introspective, suggesting an interest in mystical and poetic themes. These
paintings offer a different kind of pictorial contemplation of the world and one’s place in it.
Blue’s painting Lost, 2022, which the artist described as being inspired by climate change, brings to mind
Casper David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, 1818. Both paintings share similarities in
composition and meditations on nature. Powerful stuff.
“The artist should paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him…”
-Casper David Friedrich
I find a clarity in Blue’s paintings that makes it easy for me to make connections within art history. Tantric
Art, William Blake, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Outsider Art and more comes to mind when
looking at these paintings.
However, this is not as primary as the feeling I get when looking at them. The real magic for me is the
passion that runs through the paintings and the joy expressed from the experience of making art. Blue
offers us unseen worlds and a generous spirit…and all we have to do is look.
“I think it’s mesmerizing how someone can go from art supplies to a beautiful piece of artwork”.
-Blue
-David Goerk
