Richard Motchman

Death and Resurrection

Opening Reception: November 7, 2025 from 7-9pm.
Show run: November 8-23, 2025.
NOTE TIME DIFFERENCE
Saturday 11-4, Sundays 12-5

Artist Talk Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 2pm

The exhibition Death and Resurrection examines events around the Crucifixion of Christ, a frequent subject in art history. The exhibition involves four interactive pillar paintings and two related ink drawing series. The viewer, through engaging with and altering the pillar paintings, can explore their own interpretation of the Crucifixion and also the limits of what is a “painting.”

Artist Statement

In these paintings and drawing series, I have been able to explore concepts and imagery central to my beliefs, but which also have a very long history in art in Western civilization. A central part of my Christian beliefs is that free will is given to us by God. That free will gives us choice, so honouring that choice is an integral factor in all my interactive paintings. With the “Crucifixion Pillars” the viewer has the choice of how they want to view/understand/create the Crucifixion. There can be an organizing of the sections to create an abstraction (a potential denial of the Crucifixion); an arrangement involving the Crucifixion as a historical event/tradition; or with further movement the Crucifixion becomes a contemporary and relevant subject for present day creativity and reflection. There is no beginning or end to the organizing of the painting and any permutations chosen by a viewer can be seen as of equal value.

“Crucifix Pillar” is the central piece for the exhibition around which the other work revolves in various ways, through tradition and theologically. “Crucifix Pillar” is a 7-foot-tall painting of Christ crucified that viewers physically interact with to alter and rearrange the iconography to their choosing. One side of each section involves imagery derived from historical paintings that creates a traditional presentation of Jesus on the cross which carries with it various tropes and inaccuracies. A brief video of the “Crucifix Pillar” painting can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkRTwVQH83I&t=18s .

There is also a contemporary paraphrase of the Crucifixion that is a mixture of the accurate and the inaccurate. The contemporary paraphrase depicts a man gasping for breath, as research indicates that death in a crucifixion comes from asphyxiation. This version involves tattoos that are a current trend but also include words from the biblical text which in early Renaissance paintings would be on a scroll floating in space. The model for this was nude, as research indicates, was the Roman practise with crucifixion. It also reinforces the shocking nature of Jesus’s death and highlights the sanitizing of much traditional imagery. These differences also indicate which panels represent the present as opposed to the past and so allow some distinct options for viewers.

There is also an arrangement possible involving only abstract marks. This option allows viewers to remove the iconography of the Crucifixion from the painting so as to not engage with the narrative as is also their right in how they live their lives.

Combined with this painting are the “Mary Pillar”, the “Apostle John Pillar” and the “Penitent Thief Pillar”, which again have choices between traditional imagery, abstract marks and a contemporary paraphrase that seeks to expand and “correct” the traditional imagery. The“Penitent Thief Pillar” can be changed to a contemporary woman with tattoos as women were a major part of the life of Jesus, especially with the story of the Resurrection, but are often not portrayed.

Despite the very definite physical presence of the “Crucifixion Pillars” in the viewer’s physical space these are conceived as paintings. This painting project allows the viewer to explore the iconography of the Crucifixion but equally importantly viewers can explore what constitutes their understanding of what a painting is. These paintings have a commanding physical presence by their size and project into the viewer’s personal space, especially so when they properly experience the paintings by coming close, touching and rotating sections to create a new vision to see. With the interactive nature of these paintings time becomes a part of them as there are so many options to examine. These paintings also involve collaboration with viewers for they are in control of the imagery they see, and then what they create/leave at the end is what the next viewer will first experience.

The ink drawing series “Stations” is the imagery of the traditional Stations of the Cross which cover the events leading up to the burial of Jesus. Imagery from traditional artwork is used as are contemporary paraphrases. “Resurrection Cycle” has no traditional precedent and covers the narrative after Jesus’s burial.

About the Artist

I was born in Mombasa, Kenya. My family immigrated to Canada when I was three, we settled in Penticton, B.C. As a child, I did lots of drawing and “art”, but when I was a teenager, I read about Vincent van Gogh which inspired in me the notion to be an artist. I attended the University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. from 1978 to 1982, earning a B.F.A., having majored in visual arts.

My artmaking has always sought to stretch the traditional understanding/perception of painting whether by painting on three-dimensional forms I created, using shaped non-rectangular panels or creating interactive paintings.

My paintings have been exhibited in solo and two-person exhibitions in British Columbia and Oregon, and group exhibitions in Canada and the USA. My work is in private collections in Canada, the USA, and England.

The most common first reaction to my paintings is “I have never seen anything like this before.”

You can find more information about the artist at the following links:

Website: https://www.motchman-art.com/nav.htm
Instagram: richardmotchman