Hank Virgona’s still lives

I had a couple of extra long work weeks, and a few days ago I decided to zonk myself out with bit of TV. What I ended up watching didn’t zonk me out. It rejuvenated me. Days later, I’m still smiling about it.

The movie was “Nothing Changes: Art for Hank’s Sake” a documentary about Hank Virgona. I found it on Amazon Prime. Here’s a little taste of the exceedingly charming character that is Hank:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx7Jb6SeQrU Apart from being artistically indefatigable and incredibly endearing, Hank Virgona had a sort of relaxed “drunken master” hand that did a lot with (seemingly) very little. His work seems to primarily be still lives and figures. The still lives are meticulously arranged. The figures are “found.” I like the idea of “found figures” instead of “found objects.” I’ll post more about the found figures in another V. Note. This post is about the still lives.

” load_in_animation=”none Hank credits Morandi as the influence for his still lives. You can see the Morandi-style objects he paints, all similarly dust covered, all meticulously arranged in the near-center of the composition. For most of his paintings, his focus includes compressed colors and values, a practice of abstraction and simplification. The simpler they are, the better. Unlike Morandi, doesn’t let a single bottle stay still. You can also see his other influences: Picasso, Braque, and Cezanne.

” load_in_animation=”none In these collections there are paintings, incised paintings (which look like woodblocks), and collages. The images are from his website, which listed his remaining works for sale shortly before his death. The website does not show sold works, and very few works from this astoundingly prolific artist were ever posted online. So as you look at these lovely works, as you admire these lovely little things, please keep this in mind: these are not his best. The best works must have sold years ago. It is with no small measure of respect that I announce: these lovely little works are “only” the leftovers.

” load_in_animation=”none I am sorry to say that Hank passed away this last May, but clearly he did what he wanted to do with his limited time, and he enjoyed it. According to the documentary, Hank went to the studio 6 days a week for 60 years. He was 89. [image_with_animation image_url=”15499″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]