Ancient future
April 16th, 2022-May 22nd, 2022
Walter Gurbo. The name might ring a bell. If you lived in New York City and read The Village Voice in the late 70s and through the 80s, you’ll certainly recall Gurbo’s fabulously dark, comical illustrations. His edgy cleverness set the tone for the paper and gave The Voice its attitude. In Gurbo’s illustrations, the familiar is suddenly unrecognizable, and trusted, mundane objects become weapons: high heeled shoes turn vicious, apples bite back. A snowman warms his hands by a campfire. Gurbo showed us the world through his creative, twisted artist eyes; he made us laugh uneasily and look twice at the world around us. Then, he disappeared.
Like many outsider artists, Gurbo, at the height of his success, removed himself from the New York art world in 1990, settling further and further north, and at one point living on the top of a mountain. After a stint in Puerto Rico, he landed in a small rural village in upstate New York, just three hours upstate from his native Brooklyn.
Moving away from civilization helped Gurbo to develop his unique ways of expression independent from any art scene. He looks at his work now and says, “I don’t know where it came from!” Gurbo has been prolific in his seclusion, producing thousands of paintings, drawings, relief collages, folded books, and found-object sculpture.
The work is playful, folksy, and whimsical, but at the same time, sharp and biting. Some pieces are political; some are autobiographical, with peculiar but familiar shapes representing Gurbo, his wife, and son. Recent work is a reaction to our current state of chaos and confinement. A piece entitled “Spring Lockdown” is riveting in its complexity; I found it to be beautiful and exciting, but ultimately confusing, and both satisfying and unsatisfying as I searched for the meaning of its story.
Gurbo writes on his website, ‘“Surprise yourself,’ I say to me and you!” He sees each piece as a part of himself and has been reluctant to show or sell until now.
Gurbo remains agile, sharp, and energetic--like his art. He smiles and laughs often. As he ages, it becomes important for him to get the work out. “To save the world,” he says, and means that the world should recognize in his work its own absurdity, as well as its beauty and potential for joy. “It’s time to express my joy to the world, a joy cultivated in freedom and spirituality.”
Much of the work is created through personal exploration and discovery -- a journey the artist takes and then requires the viewer to take as well. But we don’t feel led through; rather, we find multiple paths and a signpost or two.. We become curious and are free to explore on our own. I encourage you to do so!