Joseph F. Szabo
Exhibition at the Richmond
Library, 415 Church Street, Richmond
30 September - 30 November 2006
Left:
The
Drakh,
ink on board, 64 cm x 47 cm, 2004
Right: Sting,
ink on board, 47 cm x 35 cm, 2004
Review
by Cressida Fox
Joseph Szabo’s show of
eleven pen and ink drawings brought a surreal menagerie to
Richmond Library’s display case and wall. As a lover
of creatures real and unreal myself, I took great delight
in these other-worldly life forms, or forms of
Joseph’s imagination. In stark, finely drawn and well
executed black pen, each animal was on show, unembellished
by background or props, ground or habitat, a specimen.
Some of the creatures appear to have particular
functions: Info Pod
and
Sentinel
have what look like
scanning or surveillance devices, like organic electronic
equipment. Some defy explanation of function or purpose,
such as Articicial
Fungoid, another semi organic-electronic
creature. Others are all creature, some benign whilst
others one would not like to get too close to. One could
imagine Metallic
Symphony with its tuba-like
‘flowers’ making some sort of noise, and the
wrinkled, drooping Velvet
Substance looks gooey but
harmless. Sting,
however, has barbs
at both ends, the Rhodamine
Razorback is a spiky carnivorous plant,
and The
Drakh also does not look like a
vegetarian. Only one thing bothered me: these animals
tended to be top-heavy with tiny ‘feet’ or root
systems but with big bulbous heads. In our atmosphere they
would probably topple over - but then they are not of our
world! So the artist has the fun of total freedom with his
creatures.
Joseph has always had a passion for science fiction and the
surreal. Of his work he writes: “Dreams, experiences,
emotions and fantasies are always knocking at the creative
subconscious. Some of my works are quite pictorial, others
quite abstract: off world landscapes, micro organisms and
collected off world species, man made structures. I paint
and draw for my own pleasure .... recognition and
acceptance is only a by-product ....”