John Tarahteeff: the one that got away

John Tarahteeff is known for his probing figurative paintings that infuse realism with intriguing emotional states.  His acrylic paintings use tight composition, pale lighting, and plays of scale to hint to a deep and compelling narrative that remains slightly elusive.   

In this exhibition, Tarahteeff explores the fisherman’s metaphor, “The One that Got Away”.  The “one” in the phrase requires it’s not having been obtained, and yet the accompanying story about how  “it got away” provides the sort of sustenance that the “one” did not.  As he points out, inherent in this expression is a sense of yearning and myth-making that similarly inspires the conjuring of characters and settings.  This results in paintings with a level of complexity that are striking and extraordinarily appealing.