Friday,
December 28, 2022
Knots of emotion. Timothy Hawkesworth's exhibition of
paintings and drawings in the Klein Gallery at University City Science Center
is as much felt as seen. The agitated fervor of his gestures suggests a primal
force, but also suffering, struggle and even tragedy.
This is especially true of
Hawkesworth's drawings, knots of tangled, ragged lines that appear to emanate
from, and partially obscure, a central horse in outline.
The horse is the only figural
element in any of his 10 works - four large oil paintings and six mixed-media
drawings. It's a neolithic-style horse that suggests a timeless and universal
lament, as if Hawkesworth were tapping into the historical core of human
experience.
The expressionistic paintings,
largely black and white with some soft color accents, are tense rather than
bombastic. The gestures are coiled and tremulous rather than fluid and
sweeping, which translates into anxiety or perhaps mourning.
Although the drawings are much
smaller, they make a stronger cumulative impression, perhaps because they
appear more focused and their marks are more immediate.
Klein Gallery,
3600 Market St.
9 a.m. to 5
p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Through Jan. 4. 215-387-2262 or www.kleinartgallery.org.
Edward J. Sozanski