Caniformia, oil on panel, 18.5 by 22.5 inches in frame
The Mountain, oil on panel, 15.5 by 18.5 inches in frame
We normally associate downstate New York with lighted, crowded streets and continuous social intercourse. For those living year-round in the mountainous upper reaches of New York state, the experience is much different. Theirs is an intimate acquaintance with the dark and the solitary. Artist Greg Klein hails from Old Forge, New York, a hamlet in the heart of Adirondack Park, and his work is, in many ways, an embodiment of this darker sensibility. In his own words, "I often explore the darker aspects of nature and strive to provoke a deep emotion in the viewer."
Klein's tenebrous paintings are not just dark, however, they are about darkness. It is in darkness that we encounter the mystery – the inexplicable – in our existence, and it is in the solitary that we find ourselves. In Klein's paintings we see "as through a glass darkly"—viewed in the low light of dawn or late evening, the images are not clearly seen or not entirely understood. They challenge us instead to interpret what we are seeing. Sometimes the darkness is rent by a brilliant flash of light, which does not so much illuminate as gives the entire composition a feeling of the unnatural or unearthly. Klein's work hovers between representation and abstraction, and, in each case, what is seen is what each viewer brings to the viewing experience.
Spring Awaits, oil on panel, 15.5 by 18.5 inches in frame
Siege on the Horizon, oil on panel, 19.75 by 23.75 inches in frame
Pierced Horizon, oil on panel, 12 by 14 inches in frame
Otherworldly Remains, oil on panel, 12.5 by 14.5 inches in frame
Isolation Pass, oil on panel, 11 by 13 inches in frame
Chasing the Beast, oil on panel, 15.5 by 18.5 inches in frame
Prices available on request