Selwyn Rodda @ roomartspacenyc, May 26 - June 5, 2018

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I heard about an art opening last May through a Facebook friend, Philip Nikolayev, and from the painting he included with the invitation, I was very interested. And I almost went, but at the last minute I was asked to substitute for a teacher in an afternoon class and time became problematic. I felt bad about it and messaged the artist that I was sorry I’d missed the opening, but I planned to see the show. “Come on June 4th,” he invited: “We’ll be having a little party the day before it closes.”

I talked my husband Akram into going; he too liked the painting on the invitation so it didn’t take much coaxing. The show was curated by Lorene Taurerewa, who runs the gallery, which was a small, but intimate space that was excellent for looking at the surreal landscapes where something intense is happening or in stasis, a world of metamorphic shapes that holds the viewer caught in the moment it creates.

There was a painting Akram liked, Insalubrious Salutations, where a huge abstract monkey, coming together or apart, was hovering above a medieval building where Dante might come walking out, with something organic in its middle, perhaps the beginning of a heart. I liked a painting, Dream Egress, where a dreaming severed head has opened its mouth, and a pink animal, perhaps a dog or deer, like a half formed word is slipping out. These paintings aren’t for those who scare easily; but what makes you uncomfortable can be an epiphany. I like the paintings a lot.

Below are some links that will get you closer to the artist, Selwyn Rodda, and his work. Enjoy.
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Lean Pink Encounter