Squares: Color—Motion—Detail by Ira Upin

For the most part of my 57-years-and-counting art practice, I have been making narrative hyperrealist oil paintings dealing with social, political, and emotional themes. The physical nature of the work has required a labor-intensive, highly detailed, and meticulously-planned approach to image making. However, the psychological task of conjuring the narrative thoughts and ideas that, hopefully, imbue the images with pathos and meaning can be an even more intensive endeavor. Since I draw those thoughts and ideas from what I see and hear around me and from within the state of our world today, that intensity can actually become stressful. As much as I may try to “lighten the mood” with lavish color and tinges of humor, the results tend to veer towards a slightly negative view of things.

With that context in mind, I have sought a respite from that experience with this series of digital prints created with my limited capacity for the technology in Photoshop. These works allow for a spontaneity in the process of creation while still maintaining my preoccupation with vibrant color, precise detail, and a sense of motion—just without the narrative and its attendant weightiness. The process for creating the prints is, simply: upload an existing image, crank the dials, work it ’til I like it, and hit “Save As… .” These prints have allowed me both peace and satisfaction in troubled times. I hope they transmit those same feelings beyond myself.

—Ira Upin

About Ira Upin

Ira Upin was born in Chicago in 1948 then turned down a scholarship to attend the Minneapolis School of Art. A traditional suburban background influenced him to seek a practical career. Artist was not one of them. The University of Illinois’s medical illustration program was a logical choice to put his meticulous drawing skills to use. One professor encouraged his fine art and ensured he could make a living by teaching it. When entering graduate school on scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Ira did not want to teach. He just wanted to make art. Mentorship from abstract expressionist Grace Hartigan convinced him of that choice. After graduating and receiving a Tiffany Foundation Fellowship to pay his living expenses for a year, he embarked on a career as an artist. Since 1973, Ira has lived in Philly. He met his wife Jen in 1975, bought a building in 1977, got married in 1978, and has lived in Northern Liberties ever since. Jen worked as a lab manager at Penn while Ira rehabbed buildings into rental properties to create a perpetual income and afford him time in the stud