Id Armor: Gerard Ellis

Gerard Ellis. El mar está bravo (The sea is rough), 2008. Mixed media/canvas, 50” x 80”. Photo courtesy of the artist and Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery

By Bryan Barcena

The visual arts have throughout their existence served the subtle yet necessary function as cathartic vessels into which the conflicts of the mind are poured. Media and vehicles for the expression of psychosomatic trauma are frequently manifested as complex and nuanced regurgitations of the past. The icons and symbols that represent troubling experiences tend to forge themselves in the minds of artistic individuals and will unquestionably return in need of catharsis.The media with which these individuals choose to emancipate their psychological disturbances are indeed varied, yet all attempt to create visual languages that communicate a personal and intimate relationship with the self.

Dominican artist, Gerard Ellis, is a painter, who, in the process of dialoging with his own psyche, has allowed viewers to share in a series of direct and evolving vignettes that communicate unrefined human emotion. Ellis’ dynamic yet intensely personal and seemingly authentic compositions serve on dual levels; not only are they effective in presenting the viewer with truncated iconoclastic narratives, but they also possess a strong visual vocabulary of technical styles.

Perhaps Ellis’ paintings exist somewhere in the realm between dreams and nightmares. These works would comfortably be categorized under the category of contemporary surrealism, awash with strange juxtapositions that could only exist within the constraints of a world created on canvas. Although it would perhaps be a stretch to imply that these compositions defy categorization, they do possess a silent complexity created by Ellis’ use of the media. Immediately apparent to the viewer of these works is the space which they are meant to occupy; almost all of Ellis’ work begins on what appears to be lined paper of the kind one would find in a composition book for school children. Apart from having the visual effect of dividing and breaking up what would be a stark canvas, the lines function to insert the image within the context of childhood musings.  Where one would expect to find the doodles of a child, there instead exists what could be described as the macabre and perhaps even the sinister.

Within these limited yet symbolic narratives, the artist is creating scenes of extreme tension. Although these can sometimes explode into violence, they seem more often relegated to expressing an inability to effectively deal with confrontation as expressed in its various incarnations. The human figure present in much of the work is sometimes fragmented, but almost always presented in a sort of Futurist exuberance, captured within a flurry of movement and existing in many places at once. As previously mentioned, the presence of a child or childlike development is evident in the structure of the work, but images of children are also prevalent. In works such as Haunted Boy, a child fades ominously into the background as his internal composition is revealed to be mechanical in nature, and as he confronts the presence of a piranha (also apparently internally mechanical) in the foreground. In Sueño the figure of a child is again present, but much less ethereal. Presented with a bagged piranha by a much larger unidentified figure, we can almost decipher that the danger is being contained by the larger figure. The animal is another element that is omni-present; an owl, a snake or a canine are constant companions to the figures in the paintings. Apart from the canine figure, which seems to have special significance for Ellis, many of the animals seem to have been chosen because of their visual cadence, while retaining their historical and contextual symbolisms. The canine figure differs in that it seems to also function as a personified metaphor for Ellis himself. Taking on different guises, the dog is sometimes armored, sometimes wearing a gas mask, and sometimes caught amongst cobwebs. Perhaps it would almost be more prudent to refrain from attempting to decipher the symbolism of many of these vignettes with great certainty. They can function directly and without a great degree of inspection or rather introspection. The works contain a sort of personal psychological rawness that deflects and discourages severe analysis.

The figures themselves seem to represent a trifecta of the personalities with which Ellis mediates his world. The child can potentially come to represent innocence belonging to the past and inherent in the act of exploration. The adult male figures in Ellis’ work seem to be divided into two contrasting personalities. The most common of the two divergent personalities is the armored figure, sometimes clad in medieval armor, other times confronting the elements buried beneath outerwear. In works pertaining to the Winter Wonderland series, the guarded male figure confronts an invisible gale, protecting himself behind a suit of armor or at other times an umbrella. Judging by the fact that the male figures in these paintings more often than not physically resemble the artist himself, one could infer that the invisible forces the figure opposes are most likely psychological in origin. For an artist who relocated from Santo Domingo to Brooklyn, the harsh winter winds of the Eastern Seaboard that occupy many of his works may have come to personify the difficulties of a life readjusted.

It is also within this series that Ellis puts his painterly style to best use. Contrasting schemes of subdued and de-saturated color share the canvas with dramatic slashes of paint, creating visual tension between the stalwart figure and his surroundings. It is also of interest to note that these paintings exist outside of the lined paper world that is present in much of his other work: instead the backgrounds consist of flat, bold colors that highlight the dynamism in Ellis’ technique.

The third and final character found in Ellis’ work is an aggressive figure. In contrast to the other two characters, this series seems to exhibit a kind of turn towards violence and loss of control. In works such as Training Camp, Retrato de un Boxeadeor (Portrait of a Boxer) and Father, Ellis’ technique also becomes less controlled as the figures themselves lash out towards the unknown. The movement within these pieces is directed, if not completely controlled, and some contain cryptic messages such as “I will make him bleed.”

The work of Gerard Ellis is indeed painting with a purpose. For the viewer of these works, Ellis creates visual compositions that excite on a visceral level with vivid juxtapositions of color and form coupled with the possibility of providing potent metaphors. They exist as a vehicle for Ellis; they serve not only as a cathartic medium but also as a profound, intimate and detailed exploration of the unavoidable conflicts and tensions intrinsic to being.

Bryan Barcena is a graduate of the University of Michigan specializing in Art History and Latin American Studies. He is the Assistant Director of Chelsea Galleria Wynwood, in Miami.