Ian Shults: Adult Altercations
by June Mattingly
Ian’s action-packed paintings covered in swaggering paint filled brushstrokes not surprisingly slightly evoke embarrassment connected reactions as if the observer sees themselves comfortably partaking in actuality in the explicitly exposed sizzling sexual activities.
“The Lying Game,” 2010, acrylic on board, 40 x 60 inches
“Finish this sentence, sure, but then put the goddam paper down or step away from the screen and haul your ass up West Sixth to see this show by a local painter Ian Shults. That’s the best advice we can give a local citizen now, as the Workman Gallery decks its walls with the deconstructed vintage reprobates and swingers, all mid-century seersucker and clandestine hanky-panky, rendered in stunning acrylics by this hotshot ” And from the gallery press release: “Ian Shults’ paintings forge fine art and the profane to tell sordid tales of debauchery with a sly sense of humor. His paintings recall a bygone era when the sheen of the American dream dulled, and subversive behavior of illicit drugs and kinky benders were swept under the rug.”
