Ilya Schar Returns Glamour to Broadway
By Annie Poon
At first glance, the ten visceral, gleaming images currently on display at Broadway Gallery look like paintings. But after a moment’s inspection, viewers are drawn into a wriggling world of mineral minutiae, gently guided under a master’s hand. The ‘paintings’ are actually composed entirely of precious and semi-precious stones, ground, polished, and gently affixed to canvas. These escapist explorations have all the gusto and brilliance of Gauguin’s tropical masterpieces. It’s an unlikely choice of materials, but the delicacy and precision of application is not so foreign considering Ilya Schar’s history as a dental surgeon.
The Russian-born artist’s intricate arrangements glint and pulse with maddening diversity. Stones range in size from that of a jellybean to a grain of sand- all carefully aligned to act out his exotic imagery. Quirky figurative works of birds and flowers are tempered with fluid abstract pieces.
The optic effect of these works is like that of overwrought ceremonial Asian silk- embroidered and embellished until large form succumbs to minute detail and color. These jeweled exclamations may dizzy the viewer with their sumptuous ingredients and vibrant colors. The eye surrenders as the picture dissolves into thousands of intricate vignettes.
Innocence, Beneficence of Nature shimmers with the soft, muted authority of Chinese landscape painting. Here, the stones are hand ground to the size of sand. The uniformity of size and tonal restraint in this work creates a soft mist-like landscape bordered with blood red beads that flit across dark corners and nourish minty environment.
In Rainforest, slick succulent gems look like pomegranate seeds and half-sucked candies still glistening with moisture. Sweet melon colored crystals vie with transparent gems to capture the light and begin their sugary photosynthesis. The artist makes inert crystals look soft and pregnant in the verdant jungle atmosphere.
In The Lines of Destiny, crinkled metallic minerals rise in jagged relief to their smooth-faced neighbors. Delicate arcs of mother of pearl emerge through tar-floes of sandy grains. Upon close inspection of Sparkling Flies, one encounters tiny white fossils of seashells suspended in pink pills. Other gems trap mysterious black threads. The entire painting glitters with miniscule opulence. Caviar-like morsels compose delicate fly-wings while larger striated globs bulge in place of insect eyes. Opals adhere like gleaming wet rice alongside lapis, turquoise, and strands of hematite. Fireworks is more reminiscent of a tide pool than a night sky, and the bursts of color suggest unfurled anemones, barnacles, and lost teeth.
The viewer is struck with the sense of Schar’s devotion to the material. He seems to revel in drawing out the personality of each stone. Careful consideration of texture, polish, and size determines the mineral inhabits each image. "Every stone passed through my hand", he pointedly remarked. Even the figurative works melt into abstraction. As the artist lingers over the simple juxtapositions of one stone to the other so viewer’s eyes surrender to detail. This indulgent series will spark imaginations to their own interpretation and unhurried exploration of these fantastic microcosms.
Each piece relies on the square format of painting. Though Ilya’s work uses painting as a point of departure, this series dips into uncharted terrain. Schar courageously embraces an unlikely material and celebrates the possibilities of his newfound medium.
