I was very excited walking into the opening of Falon Stutzman’s new solo show, The End of the Line, at Megan Mulrooney in LA a few weeks back. Megan, knowing I’m a huge fan of works on paper, immediately sent me over to look at the Omaha-based painters new drawings and studies, themselves feeling like an urgent “fever dream” that the show was described as. Then into the painting gallery, and though the work is depicted in scenes that harken back to the 18th century, it felt obviously of the moment.
Because here’s the thing: today’s power, the big man in charge, is like a comedy of errors. Evil, arrogant and narcissistic, yes, but what we have seen in recent years is that when power lacks decorum, taste, civility and compassion, its becomes glutinous, isolated and chaotic. These are the scenes in Falon’s work. Men are choking on their multi-course meals, brothers are fighting surrounded by regal luxury, a daughter tries to escape over the palace’s hedge. The show is like a soap opera, tragically comic. You don’t feel sorry for them, you want to invest in their failure. So we asked Falon about it…
Evan Pricco: Being that you are in Omaha, how often do you go to the Joslyn? I really like that museum's program.
Falon Stutzman: I love the Joslyn. It was still going through its major renovation when I first got here but once it opened back up, wow, it's fantastic. Free to the public as well! They have a new wing that houses its contemporary art and, that alone, would be worth a visit. They have a Lee Krasner and a Kenneth Noland that play really well within a kind of austere big white open space. Both paintings make me forget where I am for a minute. I visit there once every 6 months-ish but alternate with the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, Nebraska, just shy of an hour away. That museum is such a gem. They have a Philip Guston and a Jacob Lawrence and some really excellent architecture/sculpture interaction. It's also free!
EP: How is the art scene and the collective spirit of artists in Omaha? I haven't been there in quite a long time, but I was always curious about what was happening in the city's creative scene.
FS: I think Omaha for visual artists is a place to get work done and expand if they need to(because of affordability). There's been a pretty robust music scene here for the last couple decades and some new bands are carrying on in that tradition which is great to see. I always mention the food scene because there is a ton of creative camaraderie with chefs here. It's not uncommon for me to meet a young person who has already done a stint in LA, NY or Chicago and came back to be near family again or because of the cost of living. It's a home base for lots of people who weren't afraid to leave and see what's out there and they bring back that growth. I keep going back to the fact that I can be a painter here, have a day job a I'm doing alright. I have what I need, feel good and I'm not trapped.
EP: Let's get to the show. I loved it. It was like walking into a scene from the film Amadeus funneled through a social media gaze. It's wonderful and debaucherous and unique. What was the genesis of starting to work on The End of a Long Line? What was the research?
FS: My previous show was, in the end, fairly self-referential. I pulled frequently from my own life for ideas. This show I wanted something that was a far reach for me. Something that felt like a visual or palette stretch, but with the same sort of emotional transparency of the previous show. I saw Barry Lyndon, the Stanley Kubrick film and decided that was the time period I'd focus on. It gave me a way into the emotions I wanted to paint and I enjoy the ridiculousness of so much from that time in history. By no means did I became a scholar of the late 1700's. I try not to do too much research because I feel the painting suffers if I need to go to reference material to finish something. I'd rather be inaccurate historically, but true to what I see in my mind for the painting. I had a Gainsborough book and that was just a nice safety net if I felt at a loss for how a sleeve looked back then, or how big the hair was. Gainsborough has several paintings where there is a specific playfulness to how he painted women's or children's expressions. An almost cartoon-like quality that turned away from some of the falseness of portraiture during that time. I also visited the Huntington Museum midway through working on the show which gave me lots of information. That place is incredible!
EP: One of the things that stood out to me was that it was like an alternate reality of regal living but probably closer to the real reality of that time period. Do you think the artists that you mentioned as influences, Gainsborough, Fragonard, and Boucher, had to do a lot of sugar-coating of their subjects? Was that something you found interesting, like this sense of myth-making in this time period by these painters?
FS: I think the point of a lot of formal portraiture throughout history was to create a myth for others to believe. Even if you had a fancy dinner with a high society lady and she was awful and brutal and mean, there was a portrait of her in the hall as you were leaving which painted her glowing like an angel. All those people on the upper crust had that painter they trusted with their likeness, even if everyone knew the reality, there was a damn painting to the contrary.
EP: Obviously, we live in a period of time where the particular person in charge of the "free world" has a brood that seems like something out of a comedy of errors, and he himself is a debauched and grotesque and absurd king of his own mind. I can only assume our contemporary moment made it interesting to go back into a time machine and look at this style of work?
FS: I think the most interesting thing I've seen recently is his interaction with Mamdani. I'm still trying to pinpoint the emotion he's feeling when he pats Mamdani firmly on the arm and cocks his head adoringly to the side. Is it actually fear? Is it jealousy because of Mamdani's natural restraint? Is it a sense of regret that he will never have those qualities and, for the first time, recognizes the charm humility has on a person? I think he has a lot big feelings much like many kings in history. And pounding a fist on the table has always gotten attention. Kings have often played the victim card as well. It's a slight of hand move to gain more power, to gain sympathy from the remaining devotees while simultaneously screwing them over.
EP: I want you to talk to me through two paintings. First, one I just loved, Husband Choking on Roast Beef.
FS: In Husband Choking on Roast Beef I definitely smush and flatten forms to make the composition. There's a part in the center of the painting where his arm and her dress meet and its not spatially accurate at all but I forced it. The depth of field is wonky and questionable through the work. I really wanted these two bodies attempting to merge into one and to have that be part of the mess of the tragedy. Almost like the wife was trying to crawl inside to save him. And what if the worst moments of their lives were the only times they felt closeness and a sort of love out of desperation.
EP: And Mothers and Daughters treating their wigs. There are a lot of standouts in this show, but this one I was really drawn into.
FS: In Mother and Daughters treating their wigs I had some knowledge about the prevalence of lice and smallpox during that period. The extreme lengths these people went through to mask failing health and vulnerabilities. This piece is a little tighter than the rest of the works and I really wanted that toxic white powder to feel unpleasant. That sort of blown out brightness of the figures I hoped would read as a sort of abstract bleached mass from a distance.
EP: What do you think of contemporary art right now? Do you feel like you have the space to experiment and try new things in this environment? I think this show really demonstrated you have a distinct voice and aren't afraid to push some boundaries.
FS: I just got to the party so I'm happy to be in the mix. My hope for painters is that mystery is still encouraged and enjoyed. We're in a time where writers like Catherine Liu are making really great observations about identity. How it takes far more time and patience to know yourself and others deeply. That there simply is no short cut. In terms of looking ahead, I think I'll be going through some twists and turns in my work and I'm really looking forward to that.
Published on
