Exhibit Review: Robyn O’Neil, “This is our ending, this is our past”

by Laura Seewoester

Robyn O'Neil is showing a series of her sketches through mid December at Dunn and Brown Contemporary. "This is our ending, this is our past." is a series of massive sketches depicting an apocalypse. The sketches are quite impressive, mostly due to their size in conjunction with O'Neil's attention to detail. The viewer has no choice but to be drawn into their vastness. It's interesting, because the sketches are remarkably large, but also depict a sense of vastness. The images are dark and looming, offering an imaginary end of the world and its implications in a variety of ways. Her skill is particularly apparent in "A Disharmony", in which she pays close attention to the detail of the horse's muscle tone.

O'Neil's work is dark and depressing, as one would expect from art about the demise of the world and all mankind. She addresses death in a non-violent, almost serene way, especially with "The End", in which O'Neil has drawn two birds, one of them dead and one of them singing its final mute song. Some of her pieces also possess a hint of surrealism, however mostly due to the surrealistic nature of an apocalypse. Her work, while suggesting what may be in our future, addresses the cycle that was also once our past: an earth, large and void of life. In turn she seems to suggest that history does, and probably will continue to, repeat itself. Despite the sadness evident in O'Neil's work, a somber beauty and appreciation of life ultimately shines through.

• Staff
• Verified User
• Anonymous