Terry Rodgers (born 1947) is an American artist portraying groups of people on large canvases in such a way that the bodies often fill all the space of paintings. The manner and the scale of pictures remind one of the works of Swiss hyperrealist Franz Gertsch.
Fig. 1. The ABC’s of Living, 2010 72″ x 96″, oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Bio
Rodgers was born in Newark (New Jersey). In 1969, he attained a degree in Fine Arts after his studies at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Being interested in films and photography, Rodgers started to manifest himself in representative realism or figurative art, which he is known for now. However, he also produced some abstract pieces in parallel with his realistic pictures. Rodgers works not only with canvases but also with fabric, bronze, and photoshoots. According to the official site, the artist has lived in Washington, DC, Massachusetts, and Ohio. In 2005, three of his paintings were exhibited at the Valencia Biennial. His first European solo exhibition was held in May 2009. Afterward, he had solo exhibitions in the United States and all over Europe.
Fig. 2. The Dimensions of Ambiguity, 2005, 60″ x 70″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 3. His Collection, 1994, 54″ x 80″ oil on canvas (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 4. Between Acts, 2000, 54″ x 84″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Party World
Despite filling all space of a canvas, naked or half-naked party boys and girls hardly interact with each other and often look away in some distress. The pictures are overloaded with objects, either human bodies or interior items, which makes them look similar to collages. The party seems to freeze in full swing. The viewer is a voyeur or participant. The crowded room might also be a dreamy space, kind of what we imagine talking about the wealthy youngsters’ world. They are attractive yet decorate themselves with the clichéd accessories of luxury life: boas, jewels, expensive underwear.
Fig. 5. Negotiating the Future, 2004, 63″ x 80″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 6. Resting On Her Laurels, 2006, 68″ x 72″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 7. It’s Complicated, 2017, 48″ x 66″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 8. The Reign of Certainty 2018, 54″ x 64″, oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 9. Unseen, 2016, 48″ x 62″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fashionable Paradise
The interiors of Rodger’s paintings look very luxurious as well. From his point of view, Eve’s garden (fig. 10) is not a place outside but a stylish room in her apartments. The tree of knowledge is not the real plant but an artificial construction standing in a glass vase. Anyway, it makes sense as long as knowledge itself is a base for things produced by humans. Mortal gods don’t inhabit mountains or woods or heavens. They love fashionable furniture and comfort. Their Olympus is the room on the 30th floor of the skyscraper where the night city can be seen from a bird’s eye view. Their pastime is much like that of the main character in the Huysmans’ À rebours novel (1884). He spends his days in his own realm, where the vulgarity of the outer world is replaced with exotic smells, tastes, exquisite visual and audial impressions. The Transparency of Venus (fig. 11) depicts the naked woman in the noble setting with lots of paintings and chandeliers. It reminds us not only of Huysmans’ character. The woman can very well be Venus from the medieval legend about Tannhäuser, and this place may be her chic grotto where she waits for the minnesinger.
Fig. 10. Eve In Her Garden, 2018, 44″ x 56″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 11. The Transparency of Venus, 2011, 72″ x 107″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 12. The Sacrificial Penumbra, 2010, 72″ x 114″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 13. Solo Spaces, 2005, 72″ x 103″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 14. No Stranger to Obsession, 2005, 78″ x 86″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 15. The Architecture of Light, 2015, 40″ x 72″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 16. The Domino Effect, 2016, 62″ x 36″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 17. The Watchman, 1998, 38″ x 54″, oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 18. Vanishing Act, 2016, 68″ x 68″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 19. End Note, 2018, 40″ x 50″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 20. Equivalence, 2014, 66″ x 102″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 21. The View, 1996, 72″ x 119″ oil on canvas (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 22. Michelle, 2015 47″ x 37″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
In Other Media
Except for painting pictures, Terry Rodgers also works with some other media, as we mentioned above. His fabric pieces don’t depict parties in a figurative manner but rather the scenes of sabbath orgies. His cardboard sketches are close to shunga as far as they involve sexual interaction and genitalia depiction, whereas in his large paintings the sexual act is rarely presented. Such series as Monochrome (fig. 34) and Reconstructions (fig. 35) connect Rodgers with abstract artists, though he’s majorly classified as the representative of realism. His photographs of nude females wearing a bright makeup look like the vivid and grotesque figures of Jan Saudek if they were placed in a rich setting.
Fig. 23. Wake Up Humans, 2017, 58″ x 47″ acrylic on fabric (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 24. Conversion Therapy, 2017, 31″ x 30″ acrylic on fabric (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 25. By Torchlight, 2017, 48″ x 54″ acrylic on fabric (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 26. Lost in the Clouds 2017 56″ x 47″ acrylic on fabric (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 27. Untitled, 2008, 19″ x 24″ graphite on paper (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 28. Untitled 2009 19″ x 24″ graphite on paper (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 29. Untitled, 2009 19″ x 24″ graphite on paper (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 30. Alexie, 2013, 38″ x 48″ inkjet print on baryta paper Ed. of 5 + 1 AP (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 31. Kylie, 2013 45″ x 44″ inkjet print on baryta paper Ed. of 5 + 1 AP (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 32. Marijn, 2013, 43″ x 42″ inkjet print on baryta paper Ed. of 5 + 1 AP (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 33. Jurisprudence 1988-1994 / 2010 20″ x 20″ inkjet print on baryta paper Ed. of 5 + 2 AP (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 34. 01_untitled_2014_mono 2014 36″ x 48″ acrylic on canvas (terryrodgers.com)
Fig. 35. Unconcealed 2016 52″ x 84″ oil on linen (terryrodgers.com)
Click HERE for the ode to consumerism in sensual paintings of the American artist Mel Ramos….!!
More paintings by Terry Rodgers can be found on the artist’s site…!!
Sources: wikipedia.org; terryrodgers.com
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