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Brent Ridge
MY CAR CRASH
 
 
brent grant
2004, 26" x 21", acrylic on canvas

 

When I showed this painting at The ‘temporary Museum, many people related to it—not as his car crash, but as their own. Which made me think about the car crash as a subject—how many people have had one!  This painting is so literal that it seems the viewer hardly thinks of it as a painting but more as their own memory….
it was raining, the headlights were still on, it was a long wait for the police, the tow truck, it was a fender bender but brought up the possibility of mortality, the regret and the guilt and the place you didn’t get to.

Warhol’s car crashes are completely different. They are catastrophic and somebody else’s:

 
  GREEN CAR CRASH (GREEN BURNING CAR 1), 1963, 90" x 80", synthetic polymer, silkscreen ink and acrylic on linen
 

Another funny thing about Brent’s painting is that he is from Flint, where many of his relatives worked in the car industry, and where car crash has multiple meanings.

Here is a related painting: My Fallen Bicycle:

 
 
2004, 18" x 24", acrylic, pencil and enamel on canvas..
 

Grande Memorial, Loose Wires, My Car Crash, My Fallen Bicycle; Brent, who has a very sunny personality, seems to have a dark side.

  To see more of Brent Ridge's work on his website
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