Matt’s Thoughts After Visiting the Mishkin Gallery

It is ironic to me that the title for the art exhibition in the Mishkin Gallery is called “Revisiting a Legacy” For me, I actually felt like I did revisit a legacy because I took a huge break on art. I studied art for most of my years in High School, and after that I never saw a piece of art in person. Therefore, after visiting this gallery, I felt like I actually revisited a legacy. All of the pieces were fascinating to me, but there were certain pieces that stood out among the rest. These particular pieces of art were painted by Chaolun Baatar. I observed that in two of his paintings, The Girl from Inner-Mongolia and The Last Meadow, Baatar uses huge brush strokes. These brush strokes creates movement and drama to these pieces and makes the painting look alive. These pieces are monochromatic, meaning that one color and different shades of it are only used. These pieces include a red color theme and draw your eyes to them because of the vibrancy. It gives the painting a powerful effect on the human the eye. Additionally, he also used impasto, which is the term for heavy and thick paint on canvas. This is definitely a skill this artist has mastered because it definitely makes the artworks look alive. Another piece I was fascinated with from this particular artist was Tent Cleaning. After looking at this piece, it helped me conclude that Baatar is a very versatile artist and is skilled in different styles or art. I can tell that this piece was highly influenced by some of the most notorious impressionist artists. He uses small thin brush strokes, which are visible from up-close. However, from afar the paintings look natural. After looking at these particular art pieces, I had a nostalgic feeling of being in High School again, and that feeling was pleasant.