January 7-February 9, 2009
Upon encountering Robert Taplin's Everything Imagined is Real (After Dante) at Winston Wächter Fine Arts, one is made to feel quite self-consciously large. Nine dramatic tableaux vivants fill the space, each occupied by pallid, resin-cast figures in miniature environments. Seven of these vignettes take the shape of large, black wooden cabinets, which house interior scenes reminiscent of Italian presepe. Two others engage in table-top theatrics-- in Thus My Soul which Was Still In Flight (The Dark Wood) (2008), a middle-aged man rises from his bed, presumably after a nocturnal disturbance; a brawl erupts as a muscular figure struggles to mount the bow of small wooden boat in Get Back! (The River Styx) (2008). Foregoing the wall text, it is apparent that some somber, grand narrative is transpiring in our midst.
As show's title suggests, this nine-part series is Taplin's semi-autobiographical descent into Hell, and we, the viewers, are given an elevated seat. One recurring figure, assumed to be Taplin himself--the only actor rendered in full color--navigates contemporary settings of still despondence--a dining room, a den--that evoke a Hopper-esque vernacular of desolate realism.
You were made before I was made.
(The Inferno, v. 40-42)
Direct quotations from Dante's Inferno, like the one above from Recognize Me If You Can (The Third Circle) (2008), append each work, enhancing Taplin's compositional poetics and reiterating the only vaguely-accessible inner turmoil of the statuesque artist as he makes his descent. As the narrative progresses, color drains, and the viewer assumes an increasingly voyeuristic role. Scenes become epic in scope and cataclysmic in magnitude. Perspective shifts, supporting figures fluctuate in size and number, premonitions are sensed, cities are burned and razed to the ground.
Versed in medieval studies and theatre design, Taplin employs innovative use of materials in his sculptural works, which thoroughly heighten their visual tenor as engaging objects of spectacle. Across the Dark Waters (The River Acheron) transpires on the electric blue banks of a harrowingly tenebrous river that, upon closer inspection, reveals itself as no more than a literally gaping chasm that cuts through the dioramic scenery. In We Went In Without a Fight (Through the Gates of Dis), Taplin constructs a deep view down the street of a devastated city, shrouding buildings in gossamer screens to create a hazy atmospheric perspective.
Throughout his work, Taplin continually explores the idea that "the real real world is the one that goes on in your head." Interpreting Dante's Inferno through diorama constructions of his own intimate visions, Robert Taplin successfully crafts a distinctive, coeval narrative that, if not personally relatable, is at least compelling for its technical intrigue.
Everything Imagined is Real (After Dante) is on view at Winston Wächter Fine Arts , 530 W. 25th St., New York City, from January 7 - February 9, 2009. Further information is available at www.winstonwachter.com.
1. Thus My Soul Which Was Still in Flight (The Dark Wood), 2008.
2. Get Back! (The River Styx), 2008.
3. Recognize Me If You Can (The Third Circle), (2008).
4. We Went In Without a Fight (Through the Gates of Dis), 2008.
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