THE GARDEN STATE: ANOTHER VIEW

The magnificent rolling bills of Western New Jersey and the rich, flat plains to the south are a world apart from the complex of highways bisecting the state from New York City to Delaware. Though shrubs and trees intermittently line the miles of concrete ribbons scarring the land - and a few blades of grass always seem to thrive in the cracks between road segments the panorama of the transit corridor is dominated by derricks, warehouses and refineries, all of which, we assume, are necessary in the pursuit of prosperity. As times change and new construction further crowds the sides of these arteries, some of these structures serve new tenants while others remain as milestones of our all too recent past. Our industrial/urban lego blocks continue to add to the already offending sprawl.


This industrial/urban segment of New Jersey is the subject of Valeri Larkos art. Curiously, the bleakness of this world of concrete and sheet metal disappears; Larkos handling of artists' materials transforms this cubist chaos into an acceptable echo of the natural world. Through this familiar New Jersey imagery, Larko establishes a common ground where she can meet her audience. Then, when -figuratively - we are closer than ever before to the rust-stained tanks and smoke stacks, we are caught in her web and willing to remain captive. In her works, we see not only the geometric severity in the service of functionalism, or the precision with which myriads of intertwined pipes snake along to their destination, but we also see the rich surface of the paintings, the tonalities, the brush strokes, and the care in rendering forms in order to give life to soulless architecture.


Driving past these industrial complexes, human presence is implied by the steam/smoke/flame emitting stacks and parking lots full of cars. Everything else is still. Larko, like the Precisionists, paints these views devoid of workmen, passers-by, even stray cats or dogs. Yet, because of her love of art, and her love of the act of painting, the scene is humanized, the edges softened and the strident made mellow. But Larko approaches her subject with a sense of humor and irony.


It is the irony in her "landscapes" that sets her apart from those Precisionists who saw mans handiwork as the solution to all of mankind's problems. They saw the product, but not the byproduct; they saw the engineering marvels, but not the destruction of the environment; they saw the energy and the vitality, even though they could no longer see blue skies. Larko sees both sides, and with her skills as an artist raises the questions of right or wrong. Through her art, it is easier to swallow the bitter pill.

Zoltan Buki
Curator of Fine Art, New Jersey State Museum
August 1996