artbeats

from The Comet - December 2021

events

ARTBEATS: A LOOK AT SHARRATT DELONG’S ‘STREET LIGHT’

BY Lonnie Broadvalley

“The work of art extends beyond the surface of our consciousness, as the street can be observed through a window pane, but as soon as we open the door and plunge into the outside we become an active part of this reality, and experience its pulsation with all our senses.” - Wassily Kandinski, Point and Line to Plane 1926.

I hope we’ve all experienced the feeling of expanding awareness Kandinski references in this quote and which, I believe, Sharratt DeLong captures in his paintings. If you were lucky enough to view his November show, ‘Street Lights’ in person at Collapse Contemporary Art Gallery, the artist presents this feeling on large canvases in deep, dark, oil paints that bring you in through the out door. You will probably recognize the buildings and signs in each painting but it is the quality of light in the skies that is deeply familiar. Each piece depicts a downtown alley, parking lot, or street corner lit by a street light. Of course, the composition focuses on the lights but DeLong gives us so much to admire as we stroll not just in the light but especially in the dark. Night scenes are not for the impatient artist - it takes restraint to omit the gritty details, choosing instead to carefully mix slightly different colors for each facade, sill, and curb. The canvases are large, about 3’x 5’, allowing you to be in the dusky scenes, walking through the heart of our town as she’s still sleeping. the dark, empty streets. Each step takes you further from the lights and noise and brings you closer to your animal self - to a kind of sensual homecoming. This sounds pretty sexy - and it is, if you consider survival sexy. I know I do. This heightened state is a natural response to losing your spot at the top of the food chain and it’s something to embrace when you find yourself alone, outside, in the dark. Your pupils dilate, and the sounds are in stereo, your skin tightens and you feel the air moving - you are…an active part of this reality…and I love to revel in this feeling of prowess.

Maybe more than anything, DeLong’s ‘Street Light’ paintings are quiet and uncluttered, like a balm to the busy mind, a relief from hyper-distraction. My attraction to these pictures is all about the feeling of walking around town at night, alert, and without fear - in the heightened state. Is it that mysterious why we seek out situations where the possibility of disaster is close but not too close? Isn’t the full body focus of the ‘here-and-now’ what all the self help shit is about these days? I don’t know about you but I welcome any reminder to wander aimlessly in the dark, just for the sensation of it. Thank you, Mr. DeLong.