KRISTIN,
JOHANN EYFELLS GO SEPARATE ARTISTIC WAYS TOGETHER
Published:
Sunday, May 8, 1994
Section: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Page: F5
By Philip E. Bishop Sentinel Correspondent
It's hard
to imagine two artists more different than husband-and-wife
Kristin and Johann Eyfells - Kristin with her brilliantly colored
portraits of famous faces versus Johann's brooding sculptures
of dripped and cast metal.
The pair's recent works are currently juxtaposed in a two person
show through May 14 at Orlando's Gaier Contemporary Gallery.
Kristin Eyfells expands famous faces into over-sized, close-cropped
portraits, transforming the line and shadow of each visage into
a dazzling exploration of color. With this technique, the dimple
on country star George Jones' chin becomes a multi-colored target,
while the shadows under photographer Ansel Adams' eyes take
on the colors of a tropical bird.
Starting with a face, Kristin creates in each of her works an
individualized compromise between the abstract and the organic.
While Kristin might draw her faces from the pages of People
magazine, Johann Eyfells' sculptures seem to have arisen from
the bowels of the earth in his native Iceland.
In this exhibition, the long-time art professor at the University
of Central Florida presents four of a series of ''pillars,''
sub-titled ''Disappearance Manifested.'' These works of cast
aluminum resemble charred trunks of petrified wood, held together
with molten spikes.
The pillars are remarkable in giving to metal the organically
complex textures of the wood, seemingly formed over eons of
time.
The same organic quality is found in Johann's ''receptual''
works, metal formations that seem to have grown of their own
volition and energy, like crystals forming.
The Gaier gallery exhibition is the first local opportunity
to view Johann Eyfells' sculpture since he was chosen to represent
Iceland at last year's Venice Biennale.
The energy in this two-person show must somehow reproduce the
dynamics of the Eyfells household - two artists sharing a search
for very different artistic truths.
Philip E. Bishop is a professor of humanities at Valencia Community
College in Orlando.
