Critical Mass exhibition in Catskill, NY

Patrick Terenchin in his gallery, on the wall are the Frank Faulkner drawings.

Ending this weekend is a small exhibition of pencil drawings by Frank Faulkner, a long time resident of this area who has redone many houses in Hudson and Catskill, and who has a shop/studio space now on Warren Street, Smoke and Mirrors. The venue for the show is a new gallery in Catskill, Terenchin Fine Art, which is a beautiful clean exhibition space on the North end of Main St.

Frank Faulkner is best known for abstract heavily textured paintings combining organic shapes, leaves, branches, with abstract elements. Very beautiful they remind one of a forest floor with leaves and branches embalmed in bitumen. This current drawings are however a break from this in that they are of penises, not abstractions but closely observed and detailed drawings from life. Frank has been recruiting and drawing wee wees, as he calls them, for about two years now, building up a body of work that eventually may find their way into a book. He calls it serial imagery, the constant repetition of a form with many variations, which his paintings have always had. Of course there is a prurient element to the show and the process, which is part of the fun. I modeled for him, as have many men in the area, gay and straight, and it is an intimate, sexually charged experience, but no sex takes place, the artist is quite serious and intent on his work. For those who like penises, and that is most of the world, his show and the book will have a great deal of interest.

view of the Critical Mass exhibition, drawings by Frank Faulkner.

On Frank Faulkner's website and blogspot, is a description which says it best:

"Faulkner continues his interest in serial imagery concentrated on a specific form. Critical Mass takes this process to a new level by exploring the human figure and the human condition. In studio sessions using live models, the artist ignores the specificity of faces in favor of corresponding genitals: a body part useless for purposes of public identification. A readjustment and reevaluation of the tacit artist-model contract is required of the viewer. The images function as anti-portraits, concealing more than they reveal."

Link to his blog: http://smokeandmirrorsny.blogspot.com/

Link to his website: http://www.frankfaulkner.com/