Art Gallery Reaction Paper - Essay Example

Art gallery/museum reaction paper ‘Forza Gentle’ refers to a painting by Ben Gessner. The painting got made in the year 2002. The painting gets created out of oil on canvas. The painting by Gessner is figurative as the characters in the painting get derived from real objects. The characters in the painting represent a bright, smiling, and happy human face while the other half of the painting represents a dark and sad human face that gets flung by what appear to be ostriches. The painting appears to contrast the two different set of emotions by the characters, that is, happy and sad emotion. The painting has a symmetrical balance. The characters in the painting get provided with equal weight as the artist appears to have evenly divided the painting into two equal pieces by an imaginary line in the middle of the peace. The characters on each half of the painting also get drawn through the middle of each pane. The artist uses balance to evenly contrast the two emotions of the characters in the painting (Clarke 34). The artist uses a vertical color that divides the piece evenly into two. The artist uses one half to present the happy and smiling character, and the other half he employs to depict the sad character. The artist also employs the use of a curved white line around the hair of the character with a smiling face which assists to further depict the softening effect, pleasing, and sensual quality of the character. The artist uses a variety of color to communicate the emotions represented by the characters in the painting. One half of the painting gets dominated by bright colors while the other gets dominated by dark colors. On the character with a smiling face and what appears to be a happy mood, the artist employs the use of white tints of yellow, brown, blue, purple, and black. The use of a variety of tinted colors makes this half of the painting easily striking compared to the other half. The use of white tint on this half of the painting provides the character with a brighter look compared to the character on the other half of the painting. The use of the white tint provides the character with a lighter look (Clark 101). The artist uses shades of black, brown, and blue on the character with a sad face on. The use of these shades provides the character with a heavy look. The artist employs the use of diagonal lines on both halves of the painting. On the background of each character, there appear diagonal lines with varying tint and shades. On the background of the happy character, the artist uses cross-cutting diagonal lines of white tint lines of clue. The background of the sad character gets characterized by cross-cutting diagonal lines of brown shade. The use of diagonal lines in the piece by the artist assists to create movement within the picture and thus create varying focal points within the artwork. The artist also draws a balance at the center of the piece by using an almost vertical line that consists of multiple colors of different shades and tints. Through the use of various colors and lines, the artist employs the use of texture throughout the painting. The half with a happy character has a smooth texture. The artist achieves this by using white tint of various colors. The white tint used on this half of the painting provides it with a light feel. The artist also seems to have employed the use of smooth and gentle brush strokes on this half of the painting (Clark 67). The artist also uses straight diagonal lines in the background of the character making this half of the painting to have an overall smooth feel. The use of dark shade on the half with the sad character provides the painting with a rough feel. The dark shade paint used provides a thick feel to this half of the painting. The shade on this half of the piece appears to have gotten created seem to have gotten created out of broad and impulse brush strokes. This provides the sad character with a dynamic and rough feel. Emphasis on the painting is on the contrast of the two characters within the piece. By contrasting the emotional faces of the two characters in the painting, the author gets to create focal points within the entire piece. The viewer gets attracted to all the characters in the entire piece. The author gets to create emphasis and focal points throughout the entire piece by use of varying colors and diagonal lines. By employing the use of dark and bright colors within the painting, the artist gets to move the viewers’ attention through all the characters within the piece. The use of diagonal lines within the painting helps to create a feeling of movement within the painting. The movement achieved by the use of the diagonal lines keeps the eyes of the viewer moving throughout the painting. The painting by Gessner also displays unity and variety. The artist uses varying colors on the different characters within the painting to create variety. The use of dark and bright colors also helps to achieve variety within the painting. The artist also employs different shades and tints of color to achieve variety (Clark 196). The author through the depiction of the facial expression of the characters within the painting also creates variety. The varying textures on both halves of the piece help to create variety in the painting. The artist achieves unity in the painting by creating a symmetrical balance in the painting. The author does not emphasize or create a single focal point in the painting and this helps to create unity throughout the entire piece. The use of diagonal lines and vertical lines in the painting helps to achieve unity. Ben Gessner employs various art and visual elements in his piece ‘Forza Gentle’. The artist employs the use of color, texture, line, and balance to achieve the overall effect of contrast in his work. The use of these visual elements assists the reader to discern the contrast displayed by the painting. The artist gets to convey the varying moods of the characters in the painting by employing the use of color, texture, line, and balance. Works Cited Clarke, Michael. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. Read More