Joseph Okonek
(Sutherlin, OR)
Artist Website
Nearsighted Nude, Oil on Canvas, 28" x 14"
My work is clearly representational however; it is not strictly speaking, realism - an impartial impression of the real world. Rather, it is steeped in myth and metaphor and although lacking in supernatural, miraculous or grandiose elements would be more accurately described as symbolism.I am particularly interested in the contradictions, the questions that resist easy answers, moments of disorientation and conflict and in the case of personal transformation those dark times before the bright light of revelation. A simple--even crude--metaphor containing multiple and even divergent meanings is far more interesting and thought provoking to me than even the most detailed and beautifully rendered narrative. My current work is about identity, the narratives we create and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Not a new idea for sure but a fertile one especially today, in the western world, where we have enormous freedom to create and recreate ourselves seemingly at will.