Kent Rush: A Retrospective, 1970-1998

by Lyle W. Williams, Garo Z. Antreasian

Kent Rush is a prolific artist whose work ranges from intimate still-life collages and elegant paintings on stretched-paper panels to monumentally-scaled silver-gelatin photographs. His hauntingly beautiful and evocative work is the subject of this catalog published in conjunction with the artist's retrospective at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. Despite the variety of Rush's work, there are some common themes which have been constant in his art from the beginning of his career. First and foremost is the artist's steadfast commitment to producing works of art of great formal integrity. This is seen in his persistent and determined exploration of tone, line, and texture. As important is the relationship Rush creates between the object and the viewer. His works are quiet and distant, not expressive or discursive. Viewers must work to determine the meaning for themselves. Also, Rush finds artistic beauty in the most unlikely places--freeway overpasses, curbs, tree stumps. He challenges viewers to rethink traditional notions of beauty, and he raises interesting questions about fine art and the mundane. This catalog beautifully illustrates the richness and depth of Rush's work over the course of nearly thirty years. It includes an essay by Lyle W. Williams, curator of prints and drawings and of the Rush retrospective at the McNay, a bibliography, a glossary, and an appreciation by Garo Z. Antreasian.

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999