PSST! – Go Figure

Eric Fischl makes his Imago Galleries debut

Site Staff Arts & Entertainment

Figurative painter Eric Fischl, shown in his studio, opens an exhibition this month at Imago Galleries in Palm Desert.
COURTESY ERIC FISCHL

One of America’s best figurative painters is actually a trained abstractionist — and that’s a good thing, as you can see this month when Eric Fischl opens his first solo exhibition at Imago Galleries in Palm Desert.

Eric Fischl PaintingKnown for his timeless depictions of often-sexualized figures, Fischl — a New York-based artist who studied at Cal Arts in the early 1970s — celebrates the body and draws viewers into a colorful, gestural realm that strips away superficial characteristics in favor of a psychologically charged landscape.

In his newest work, process trumps provocation and encourages close inspection. Layer over layer of resin allows Fischl to create dimensional paintings, while his sculptures in glass and bronze freeze his recognizable figures in graceful movement.

Fischl’s Jan. 19 debut at Imago Galleries coincides with Dive Deep: Eric Fischl and the Process of Painting at San Jose Museum of Art — a show that continues through May 12 and includes paintings and more than 100 studies in drawings, oil sketches, sculptures, digital composites, photographs, and prints — many never previously exhibited.

Photography Courtesy Eric Fischl

Imago Galleries,
45450 Highway 74, Palm Desert;
760-776-9890