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- Jill Wicht, MONA Director of Education —
- "Driving is an oil painting on canvas created in 1992. A large artwork measuring 64¼ x 74½ inches, it is similar in size to a large picture window. It has a horizontal orientation and the canvas is framed by an unobtrusive ½-inch wood strip. Primary and secondary colors make up the work’s color palette. In this composition, the observer is placed in the point of view of the driver.
In 1992, Driving was awarded Best of Show in MONA’s Prairie Lights Showcase, a state-wide juried exhibition that drew 371 entries that year.
Vincent Hron, a native of Omaha, is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania."
- Mary Lierley-Wulf, Art Historian —
- "This painting represents various optical techniques and painting styles. The viewer is immediately drawn to the vivid colors, perspective, and over-all decorative quality of the canvas: negative space is practically nil. The outdoor landscape which utilizes about one-third of the picture plane is true Pointillism, while the remainder is some form of Expressionism, much of which has realistic components – for example, the name “Toyota” appears on the steering wheel, details of the dash board, and other areas of the automobile interior. Certain aspects of the picture plane are somewhat decorative but remain an accurate representation. The artist has truly embellished pedestrian subject matter in a unique manner."
- John E. Fronczak, Artist —
- "This painting is clearly representational, but its forms are not realistic. In fact much of the painting is a burlesque elaboration, with lines, shapes, and forms thrusting, swaying, and undulating in sympathy with one another.
The figure is highly stylized in its exaggerated perspective. The view that the artist compels us to take is unsettling. There is a feeling of zooming in and zooming out and a sense of vertigo which is thick, drowsy, and slightly nauseating. Lines, edges, and curvilinear shapes cause the dark gray car interior to encompass our gaze; we truly can inhabit this vehicle. The car interior “pulsates” as though alive, while also pivoting along the broad sweeps of the roof, windshield, dashboard, and seat. It is as though it were not the interior of a small car at all, but that of some great, semi-rigid invertebrate, with wavering tendrils supporting its dome.
While the bright exterior is a fairly regular pattern of somewhat circular dabs of paint, delineating linear strokes dominate the interior and figure. Each approach to applying paint emphasizes the distinction between two worlds: the bright, colorful, patterned, but flat backdrop of the world beyond the car windows, separated from a disconcerting and even frightening, yet animated, and funny private world within the car."
- Brad Kernick, Kearney Businessperson and Co-Chair of Kearney Cruise Nite —
- "This piece of artwork really takes me back to my younger years. One of the first things I noticed is the panoramic view of the neighborhood. That sure brings back memories of when I was a kid and we would get in the car to visit my grandparents in Norfolk and Madison, Nebraska. There were lots of trees in the neighborhoods like this piece conveys. Also, there were many houses that were relatively close together much like this painting. The narrow street in this artwork is also very consistent with my experiences in my early years. All in all, it rekindles very pleasant childhood memories."
- John Masker, 5th Grade, Kearney's Meadowlark Elementary —
- "I get so excited about cars! Since I was three years old, I have been fascinated about cars. One of the things I love about this detailed painting is that it shows the view of a young man driving on a carefree beautiful summer afternoon. The painting makes me imagine that he is listening to music and driving in his shiny white four-wheel drive Toyota truck. The sun glistens on the grass through the oak trees that shade the street. This painter has captured your imagination by the colorful detail that makes you feel like the road is endless. He’s on a happy journey enjoying the sights and sounds of summer. Maybe he is on his way to a Husker football game. The wind rips through the open windows of the truck and excites his senses and he knows fall is in the air. Go Big Red!"
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