ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The quintessential extensions of American identity are intertwined in Tim Buwalda’s new series of paintings, expanding the scope of his incisive commentary on self-actualization and social change embodied by classic cars. The enigmatic set pieces of Neighborhood Projects engage audiences’ imaginations with glimpses of property bordering real models, disclosing just enough authentic details about their modest home-lives to suggest dramatic backstories for the unseen inhabitants. The artist discovered his latest muses by scouring the quotidian sidestreets and middle-class quarters of South Florida’s suburban sprawl, fertile territory for stagnant dreams, forsaken treasures and abandoned projects more likely to be sheltered from voyeurs in colder climes.

Buwalda documents each scene without judgment or intervention, only adjusting the perspective and framing of found objects in situ. At his Miami studio, the artist adapts selected compositions into oil paint or watercolor with a signature blend of precise brushstrokes and expressive shading. This balance of verisimilitude and perceptual veracity tempers the impermeable veneer of photorealist pioneers with subtle subjective touches. He shines a stark light on deteriorating conditions by meticulously rendering the disheveled slipcovers and overgrown foliage that shroud survivors with symbolic weight. Yet he also elevates objects of desire by grounding the gaze in a point of view reminiscent of his boyhood tinkering at West Palm Beach garages under the tutelage of masculine elders.

The conscious presence of the artist’s hand evokes the impossibility of perfection and inevitability of change – for man and machine alike – as well as the ideals that propel invention and consumption. Buwalda simultaneously articulates and penetrates the branded personas of each vehicle to reveal both the wishful self-image projected by its invisible driver and the subconscious reflection of unvarnished human nature. Writ large, these auto-portraits take on allegorical dimensions, signaling the inevitable displacement of car culture and illusory glory of the American Dream.

Margery Gordon