Robert Yoder is the ostensible star of Robert Yoder’s solo show at Howard House (new review here), but the established Seattle artist used one entire giant wall at the gallery to showcase the art of other people, notably the relative Seattle unknown James Cicatko.
Yoder first saw Cicatko’s work at Corridor Gallery in 2008; Cicatko’s screaming Messerschmidt study is one of the largest and loudest works in Yoder’s exhibition of other people’s portraits. It’s called Red Messerschmidt, and it’s oil on paper, 44 by 44 inches.
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was an 18th-century German-born Austrian sculptor known for devoting the last years of his life entirely to “character heads”—amazing depictions of his own facial distortions, caused by his own pain, either physical or mental (Crohn’s disease? schizophrenia?). Here‘s a web site where you can see a bunch of them. I’ve never seen them in person but they are so on my life list.
Cicatko’s paintings and drawings are varied and worth much more looking (strictly in JPEG form, I’m interested in this and this, which seem to represent the two poles of what Cicatko does).
At Howard House you can’t miss Cicatko’s Red Messerschmidt. But unless you ask you will miss his little book of portraits on small pieces of paper, each one tucked into a sleeve page in a five-by-seven photo album. Ask to see it. Here are a few examples of what’s in there (don’t miss the teeth in the third image).
They’re all Cheshire cats!
I am so glad that James has caught your attention. His figurative work is compelling and moving on many levels and rendered with great skill. His political work goes into rarely charted territory. His large scale drawing “Party” is a visceral representation of Mark Lombardi type intersections.
Yes, this is remarkable, subtle stuff – I’m so glad you brought cictako’s work to my attention.