Monday, June 01, 2009

Busting Boundaries: The Art Of Joshua Cross




I was a day late. Restless Roots Artistry had held the opening the previous evening.

I regretted my mistake. Seeing the art without the artist is an incomplete story.

The mini-exhibit of works by Joshua Cross, a senior at Beekmantown High School, is striking. Images and styles all over the map. His art teacher, June Levenson, told me that Joshua likes to let his imagination run wild.

For example, she might give her students a particular object to draw. Joshua would only use that as a springboard to go off on a creative tangent. The original subject would be in the work but not necessarily its focus.

Anyone can go crazy. But going crazy artistically – that’s rare.

His works show imaginative use of color. Even his black-and-white drawings are colorful in a twisted way. Dali collides with cartoons and comic books.

Borders can’t contain Joshua’s expressiveness. In one work the image is spilling out, the black borderlines warping and wiggling as the art busts free.



The Joshua Cross exhibit is on display at Restless Roots Artistry, 36 Miller St., Plattsburgh, just north of the post office. It is open Tuesday through Friday 3 - 6pm, Saturday 10am - 6pm. Call (518) 578-0888 for more information or email restlessroots@gmail.com.

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