Timothy J Horjus: Subverted Sublime
Rosenberg Gallery
Horjus creates artwork that functions aesthetically within the framework of high formalism and the stylistic tendencies of post-painterly abstraction. His paintings visually cling to the antiquated ideals of modernism; however, through a conceptual base and contemporary references, they also function within the current cultural discussion of information transmission.
‘RE: Are you lacking size?’ (Baltimore Sky) 2018 house paint on canvas 36” x 36”
‘ATTENTION DEAR’ 2015 house paint on canvas 23” x 15”
These works evoke a sense of illusory social space by utilizing the language of modernism in conjunction with traditional references to discuss our reliance on digitally produced and transmitted information. Through this lens, Horjus attempts to subvert, yet at the same time embrace, the antiquated ideals of a historical painting. Unlike the exclusion of space in modernist painting, he seeks to acknowledge and deny the historical precedent for illusory space as representation of the real. Within this contradiction, he attempts to evoke the space of the contemporary condition, which is one of awkwardness. We find ourselves increasingly pushing away “real” experiences in lieu of digital ones, all the while continuing to yearn for more human interactions. This situation is displayed through the antagonistic use of digitized information over the top of the contemporized reference to a historic sublime. The “networks” that are placed over the pictorial space function as a stoppage, yet flirtatiously interact with the space of the painting in a way that is simultaneously confusing and awkward.
LEFT: ‘Horju, check out your possible matches now!’ RIGHT: ‘horjus, Make Christmas Magical again!’
2014 house paint on canvas 10” x 20”
The digitized layers act as networks; they are the experience of being human in a digital world, our function as the cells/nodes/screens for the interplay of constant information. The balance between maintaining our humanness, and succumbing to the random deluge of text messages, pop up ads, email, YouTube, and spam, the necessity of interconnectedness. The titles of Horjus’ works are the anonymous subject lines of spam emails, highlighting what he feels is the universal concept behind his work; in other words, the incessant bombardment of useless information. The ubiquity of these subject lines has started to create a new language, one that is global in its reach and recognizable by its abbreviations, misspelled words, and inferences. This new vernacular is the contemporizing of language as the classical seeks to deal with the changes necessitated by technology and is recognizable through its awkward use of seemingly recognizable elements in a new way.
‘you can receive the funds within 1hor’ (Sunset Snow) 2016 house paint on canvas 62” x 48”
JANUARY 17 – FEBRUARY 26 ARTIST’S RECEPTION:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 6-9 P.M.
Rosenberg Gallery
RIGHT: ‘For the playfully inclined…’
2018 house paint on canvas 23” x 15”
DIRECTIONS
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday 410-337-6477
Baltimore Beltway, I-695, to exit 27A. Make first left onto campus.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. The Rosenberg Gallery program is funded with the assistance of grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Baltimore County Commission on the Arts and Sciences.
18131-6603 10/17
COVER IMAGE: LEFT: ‘So perf, so PINK.’
GALLERY HOURS