The Mysterious Metropolis


Larry Aydlette, PalmBeachPost, April 26, 2009

 

Andrew Stevovich might be the David Lynch of artists: They both see urban life as a mysterious, unexplainable dreamscape. Stevovich paints well-dressed, slightly zaftig city dwellers, who move in crowded, zombie-like packs through an anonymous metropolis of cafes, subways, restaurants and theater queues.

 

Stevovich's paintings are clearly influenced by the prayerful poses of the Italian Renaissance and odd angles of German Expressionism. But in painting after painting, these seemingly disconnected and alienated people are whispering to each other, or touching each other discreetly. In one instance, a man can be found biting a woman's hair. Why?

 

Stevovich's world - odd and off-kilter, but beautifully rendered in dazzling shapes and luminous colors - raises more questions than answers. And the Austrian-born, Boston-based artist is no help: He sees himself as an abstractionist.

 

You'll just have to go see these 75 works and figure them out for yourself.