Glennray Tutor
Working in the still life tradition of 17th century Dutch painters, Glennray Tutor elicits a sense of wonder from his viewers through the direct presentation of contemporary commonplace items. Home canned as well as store-bought jars of vegetables, fruit, jellies; toys; fireworks; candies; marbles; all of these transformed into visual treasures. “He draws us into his painted world to marvel at the commonplace artifacts of daily life and, through his mastery of the painting technique, shows them to us as if we are seeing them for the first time.”
His painted objects protrude as 3-dimensional objects into the viewer’s space. Presenting his subjects distilled through the techniques of 17th Century Dutch masters into a 21st Century hyper-realism, Tutor coyly reminds us that truth and illusion are partners in the artist’s game. He draws us into his paintings to marvel at the artifacts of daily life, as if seeing them for the first time. We are magically given new, heightened awareness of shapes, colors, contents through Tutor’s impeccable painting technique and surface finish. Perhaps he invites us to speculate about the nature of his artistic metaphors, for the images abound with suggestions and allusions. Barry Hannah once wrote “The paintings of Tutor are like life after a glaucoma operation. A whole new vision is given to us.” “My work is all about the renewal of the sense of wonder,” Tutor says. “I’m celebrating being here in this miraculous existence.”