Tad Greenwald
+ Enlarge
Jaguar Mark IX in Big Spring, TX
2020
Watercolor on paper
5"x7"
Statement
Through sensitive renderings of West Texas and the solitary vehicles that define its landscape, I seek to capture the moment when quotidian becomes sublime. With fierce objectivity, I create portraits of decrepit classic cars and trucks, interested in the infinite texture and detail found in these small-town scenes. At first glance, the forlorn and familiar content may seem like an unlikely subject of such rigorous representation; however, I hope to transcend technique through my devotion of time and the innumerable brush strokes in each painting. Devoid of any human presence, the intricate works walk a line between intimacy and distance, appearing at once private and abandoned, warm and isolated. In my on-site adventures photographing the material, I am continually transfixed by the saturated colors and vast, foreboding skies of Texas — a landscape that is energized by an evocative, mythic power. I believe that these cars — monolithic land-yachts rusting across the countryside — are what’s left of this American cowboy mystique. They're solitary figures in driveways, garages, at the edge of fields, somehow transmitting a personality and a history. For me, they conjure the romance and nostalgia associated with roaming the salvage yards around my hometown; the dramatic physicality of these vehicles and the light and heat of the atmosphere are memories that remain vivid in my imagination.
Drawing (BFA) Students