Until next February 5, the P.P.O.W Gallery, in New York, presents a Thomas Woodruff´s solo exhibition, the eight with the gallery since 1989, called The Four Temperament Variations. This amazing group of paintings are the work of a very talented conceptual artist who uses traditional figurative painting techniques, archetypal formats and hybrid visual vocabularies from history.
In his latest body of work, Thomas Woodruff explores the four temperaments and the painterly figurative genres of portrait, still-life, landscape, and wild life in his variations. The paintings are a celebration of the emotional value of color and the storytelling potential of character and costuming. It is also a contemporary revision of the enigmatic mysteries of our collective past. For The Four Temperament Variations, Woodruff has created his own beasts, as the “quadicorn” and the “butterfly”, that are part of a grand, fabulist group of images where Woodruff explores his encyclopedic knowledge of art and fashion history.
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations,Tiger Variation, Phlegmatic 2010-11, acrylic on heavy rag paper, 30 x 30 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Tiger Variation, Sanguinic 2010-11, acrylic on heavy rag paper, 30 x 30 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Tiger Variation, Choleric 2010-11, acrylic on heavy rag paper, 30 x 30 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Still Life Variation, Sanguinic 2009-10, acrylic on linen, 60 x 48 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Still Life Variation, Phlegmatic 2009-10, acrylic on linen, 60 x 40 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Still Life Variation, Melancholi 2009-10, acrylic on linen, 60 x 48 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Still Life Variation, Choleric 2009-10, acrylic on linen, 60 x 48 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Landscape Variation, Sanguinic 2010-11, acyrlic on linen, 66 x 90 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
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- Thomas Woodruff, The Four Temperament Variations, Landscape Variation, Melancholic 2010-11, acrylic on linen, 66 x 90 inches, Courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery
The Four Temperament Variations by Thomas Woodruff
The Four Temperaments Variations were inspired by the theories of Hippocrates, around 400 BC, when wise men believed everyone’s body and mind were controlled by four different, mysterious, colored fluids: Sanguinic, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic. Imbalance or overabundance of these fluids would cause disease or pre-described behaviors. Bleeding, cupping, herbs, and emetics were some of the treatments used to cure the disease. During the Renaissance this theory was revised to include ideas of temperature. In the Age of Reason, aspects of physiognomy were brought into play, and today many pop psychologists and dating services still find the personality traits useful tools for getting along and finding love.
For many artists, the idea of the humors continues to inspire as models for our emotions and behavior, as a model of the stages of man, and a tidy way of organizing what is ill or well within us all. The Mannerist Jacopo Pontormo used the temperaments to frame his portraits of the evangelist gospel authors. The eccentric engraver Lavater used the characteristics in his visual lexicons on appearances. The Danish composer Carl Nielsen created his Symphony #2 as a meditation on the theme. And of course, there is the modernist masterpiece composed by Paul Hindemith and choreographed by George Balanchine.
Woodruff is a conceptual artist that has also worked as an illustrator, educator and curator. Besides, he designed works for theatre, dance, opera, and television, and has worked as a tattooist. During the last 12 years, Woodruff has been a Chair at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and he continues to inspire young artists with his eccentric, visually complex, and visionary paintings. Among his works we can underline The Turning Heads 2008; Freak Parade 2000-2006; All Systems Go 1999; Apple Canon 1997; and The Secret Charts 1995. This is Mr. Woodruff’s 31st solo exhibition in his thirty year career. His work is in public and museum collections all over the world.
Thomas Woodruff – The Four Temperament Variations (Until February 5)
535 W. 22nd Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10011
Tel: 212-647-1044 email: info@ppowgallery.com
