Joe Pennell's Printing Press 2004

Frank Mason’s painting captures a scene with a printing press, rendered in soft, muted tones. The browns and grays are almost like a memory, a faded photograph of a workshop. Look how the artist teases out the shapes from the hazy background. What was he thinking as he applied those layers? There's a sense of reverence for the labor of art-making, a nod to the lineage of artists who came before. The figure operating the press, the sculptural forms, and the mural in the background create a feeling of timelessness. The paint is applied in such a way that everything seems to blend and blur into one another, like a dream. It reminds me of other artists interested in classical themes like Puvis de Chavannes. The act of painting is an embodied conversation across generations. Mason reminds us that creativity builds upon creativity. It is always in dialogue with history.