Siddharth Parasnis' work is precariously perched on the event horizon between representational art and abstraction.
Parasnis paints houses from around the country, houses with roofs covered with a fresh blanket of snow and houses bleached by the harsh summer sun. Some of the houses look solid enough that you almost feel like you're just seeing them through smudged glasses, like you could go knock on the door and go inside. But most of them seem to be in the process of dissolving into rough shapes and hazy color before your eyes.
“A Town Nestled in Snow” is perhaps the most effective piece in Parasnis' current show at Sue Greenwood Fine Art, depicting a wintry scene that is specific enough to evoke strong memories of childhood mornings walking to school with your boots crunching across icy roads, while also working simply as blocks of chalky white, slabs of mint and chip green, slashes of lipstick red, little blobs of orange. Are all these colors adding up to a recognizable scene, or is that scene coming apart before you? Is Parasnis making a world, or unmaking it?
Siddharth Parasnis @ Sue Greenwood Fine Art
330 N. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach
(949) 494-0669
Open through September 30.
