Sean Cain
“I wanted to swim around pictures I’ve always loved,” said the artist Sean Cain, regarding his June exhibition at Russo Lee Gallery. The artist reveals a new approach to the figure, creating diptychs and triptychs of his familiar models in random poses, juxtaposed with iconic masterpieces from art history, sometimes alluding to religious symbolism. The structure and modeling of these dynamic small works have a joyful yet intimate paint-by-number, color-block feel. Similar to his previous work, these paintings draw the viewer in and then prompt efforts of individual interpretation. They are both beautiful and enigmatic.
A graduate of the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 1994, Sean Cain also studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. Cain has been in numerous exhibitions at the Laura Russo Gallery. His work has been included in group exhibitions at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, The Art Gym at Marylhurst University, and the Portland Art Museum in Oregon.