Striated Line Paintings By John Mendelsohn Explore Illusory Depth With Vibrant and Shaded Colors

John Mendelsohn
 Tenebrae 3

2014
 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
 40 x 28"

The Tenebrae series of striated line paintings by John Mendelsohn were created in 2014 with acrylic paint and oil stick. The nine paintings measure 40 x 28 inches each and explore both vibrant color and shaded passages to create the illusion of overlapping folds and dimensional depth across the compositions. These moody paintings evoke folds of yarn, deep crevices in draped textiles and topographical views of barren landscapes.

The title, Tenebrae, is a Latin word that means shade or shadow. It is also an Easter service where the candles in a church are extinguished sequentially leaving the church in darkness.

Mendelsohn commissioned Danny Rivera to write a poem describing his interpretations of the Tenebrae paintings, in which he wrote of "their earthiness, sense of flow, musical quality, and the undercurrent of human feeling. . .”

John Mendelsohn
 Tenebrae 2
 2014
 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
 40 x 28“
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

John Mendelsohn
 Tenebrae 4
 2014
 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
 40 x 28“
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

John Mendelsohn
 Tenebrae 6
 2014
 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
 40 x 28“
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

John Mendelsohn
 Tenebrae 8
 2014
 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
 40 x 28“
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Installation Views: