Aron Wiesenfeld

Aron Wiesenfeld’s paintings, though not actually narrative in the usual sense, carry an implied a narrative, a suggestion that you are glimpsing a scene for which relevant events are happening, or have happened, outside the scope of what is seen.

In scenes that carry an atmosphere of isolation, his subjects, often young women, stare contemplatively — and in some way seem detached from their immediate surroundings, reinforcing the feeling that something of importance, but unseen to the viewer, is the focus of their thoughts.

Wiesenfeld’s finesse in walking up to the edge of overt narrative, and then pulling back just enough to leave the mystery intact, perhaps owes to storytelling skills developed in his early work as a comic book artist and cover illustrator.

After leaving that field he studied traditional classical painting and drawing at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and from there began his still evolving approach to his painted subjects.

Wiesenfeld utilizes muted ranges of value and color, punctuated with higher contrast areas of primary interest, to give his compositions a feeling of drama as well as an undercurrent of emotion. This is heightened by his use of texture to slow down the eye, let linger over backgrounds and environments, and add to the sense of stillness and reflection.

There are galleries of both paintings and drawings on Wiesenfeld’s website, as well as a stream on Flickr.

Those in the New York area can see Wiesenfeld’s work on display in a one artist exhibition of new work at the Arcadia Gallery in Soho. The show runs until November 24, 2012.

(Note that after the show ends, the link given above will change to the next current show, but you will still be able to view Wiesenfeld’s work at the Arcadia, which represents his work on an ongoing basis, using this link.) The images galleries on the Arcadia site are more extensive than those on the artist’s own site.