Artist reception at Da Silva Gallery in Westville Friday evening

Da Silva Gallery
897 Whalley Ave., New Haven, (203) 387-2539
Jacob Pongratz
May 7—June 5, 2010
Opening Reception: Fri., May 7, 6—9 p.m.

Press release

According to artist Jake Pongratz, the driving force behind his art is "to apply a primal energy that solidifies my experience as a human to canvas. A fluid approach of spontaneity and confusion is essential to my finished product." What is not confusing however is to view the actual work. Unbridled lines of bold color cut lines through the canvas. The work of Mondrian comes to mind, but Mondrian deconstructed, as if some of his jazzy pathways of paint had dripped and remained wet.

Pongratz explains further that his search for an image "must be open and broad, and not focused on termination. I drew the heart of the action from images of remembrance, past and present, recollections of objects used, populations destroyed. Manifestations of moments, or extensive passages of time." His language, like his art, is both inexplicable yet compelling. A color palette this vivid and alive dews the viewer into the canvas. For the viewer and the artist, what you see there is personal and provocative.

Pongratz's show of new work opens this Friday at the Da Silva Gallery in Westville from 6-9 p.m.