ART : REVIEWS

May 29, 2023

T. L. Solien's got his identity all mixed up with cartoon and advertising icons. In an embrace of pop culture that echoes Warhol but with a passive-aggressive edge, Solien paints autobiographical works featuring 1950s-era Campbell's Soup kids, Disney characters and "Tubby the Tugboat." Solien situates his monumental heads front and center on the canvas, then layers on veils, multicolored bubbles, bottles, flowers, teacups, abstract shapes and eyeballs, all outlined in thick, black or sketched in with washes. By altering or all but obliterating his source material, the artist takes his large paintings (at Klein Art) and midsize prints (at the Print Center) to a strange, surreal place that shatters identity like a broken mirror. The ghost of Emmett Kelly's sad clown sits on these works, which read both as personal and global statements. Pop culture is easy to love and to hate. Solien goes forth boldly in both directions. (Roberta Fallon)

"T. L. Solien: Recent Paintings," through July 6. Esther M. Klein Art Gallery, 3600 Market St. 215.387.2262. www.kleinartgallery.org. "T. L. Solien: Works on Paper," through June 29. The Print Center, 1614 Latimer St. 215.735.6090. www.printcenter.org

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