The Art Out There: The Gryllus - Cara Thayer & Louie Van Patten

The Gryllus is the working title of a collaborative painting effort by two young artists, Cara Thayer and Louie Van Patten. Painting and drawing is almost universally a individual form of expression. Collaborations generally tend to be less satisfying than amusing. And it must be rare indeed for combined efforts to exceed those of the individuals. Most of the impetus here, for both the subject matter and the style, seems to come from Louie judging by their earlier, presumably graduate level work. But Cara clearly brings something to the canvas, possibly a more rigorous commitment to the concepts which they explore diligently for the the best possible results (her own work tends toward a more multi-disciplinary approach including sculpture and installation in addition to painting). It is all too easy to have an intriguing idea, knock off a couple of modest examples and then abandon it for the next idea. Part of creating good art is being committed to your concepts. Here they are primarily examining the possibilities of paint to capture the varying qualities of flesh, it's reflectivity and elasticity especially. But they have a few other irons in the fire as it were. I wish Cara and Louie the best of luck on their experiment, which will require not only a commitment to their ideas but to each other as collaborators. A complex endeavor to say the least.
More of their work can be seen on their website, www.thegryllus.com or at bluecanvas.com and myartspace.com which I believe is where I first came across their work.