Art Opening
Pierrot by Patti Bess
Thu, Jun 18, 4–6pm
Galería OMO
Fábrica la Aurora 5C

Reinventing Pierrot
By Janice Zimolzak

The most recent body of work from painter Patti Bess at Galería OMO focuses on a solitary subject, a series of wistful images of Pierrot that are reminiscent of the short-lived love affair the modernists had with Harlequin, the trickster of Italian comedy.

It is surprising that during the earliest decades of the twentieth century, the elite modernists would be fascinated with, or engage in, an art so common as sixteenth-century Commedia dell’ Arte. Twentieth-century commedia was born in the literary circles of Paris, spearheaded by the avant-garde magazine La Vogue. It quickly spread to Munich, St. Petersburg, London and New York. While many painters, writers and actors explored the personality of the Italian jokester, it is the interpretation of Jean-Antoine Watteau and his master, Claude Gillot, a designer for the Paris Opera in the early eighteenth century, that gives us the love-struck simpleton we recognize as Pierrot today.

Bess draws her inspiration from a combination of Watteau’s sad but playful characterization and the refined interpretations of the modernists. Her exquisite detailing and mastery of chiaroscuro, evident in these works, might lead one to assume that she has had many years of formal training, when, in fact, she has not had even one hour of instruction.

Bess grew up in the oil fields of Venezuela and was sent back to her native Texas to complete her education and conquer the world. However, marrying her childhood sweetheart was a more attractive proposal, and so the world was put on hold…but not for very long. When she did return to Texas, Bess began creating greeting cards. A sales rep suggested that they would make good t-shirts. Following through on the suggestion, she developed a company so successful that it threatened the giants of the industry, and that led to a buy-out by Hang Ten in the nineties.

Bess works strictly in acrylics, due to a lung disease that prevents her from using oils. Ironically enough, health was the very issue that directed her toward painting in the first place. Unable to tolerate the Texas humidity any longer, she moved to California, where opportunity for a second successful career presented itself. A friend offered her a job as an assistant in her fine arts, faux painting business, creating frescos on the walls of the homes of the rich and famous. Shortly thereafter, a lifestyle change forced the friend to close her business and drove Bess to open one of her own.

The first job she landed was the 27,000-square-foot home of grocery billionaire Ron Burkle, longtime friend of Bill Clinton. She hired 22 assistants and set about figuring out how to get the job done. Burkle brought in a subject consultant from Madrid’s Prado Museum who mentored Bess in the fine points of fresco and taught her how to mix her own paints. When the job ended 2½ years later, Patti Bess—with no formal training, but obviously possessing strong artistic instincts—had become a fine arts painter.

Bess has been featured in Art in America and has a successful 20-year relationship with New York City fine art representative John Stevenson. She has also explored religious art, Florentine still life, portraiture and kitsch art, working from large-scale murals to finely detailed miniatures. Her work with historical art, primarily of the Renaissance, is often compared to that of David Bierk, an American painter who reinterprets masterworks, and Armando Romero, a neo-eclectic Mexican painter.

Galería OMO, the latest addition to Fábrica la Aurora, represents Bess exclusively in San Miguel. Owner Jim Corcoran is hosting a Meet the Artist cocktail reception for the impressive display of the artist’s works featuring Pierrot.