“Chasing the Raft of the Medusa” paints a narrative of figures in pursuit of the Raft, with past experiences, futuristic expectations, burnout of current events and themes from the mind in tow. The arrow shaped canvases help guide our travelers throughout the abstract barren landscape. These figures don their own rafts both propelling and hindering them in the pursuit of this great creation. What wreckage will they encounter? What will be left in the mighty Raft’s wake? Are they bound to be lost? Or destined to find the wreckage? When they arrive will the Raft exceed their expectations or has the memory of this masterpiece decayed with time?
Dyer states he is chasing “The Raft of the Medusa” in his work, a classic piece from Théodore Géricault depicting a mass of figures on a life raft from a shipwreck. While showing at a group exhibit, Pasamehmetoglu and Dyer found this title captured the themes
and intensity of each other’s work perfectly.
Artist Statements
Kellen Dyer
Kellen Dyer is a figurative painter based in Northern California. He graduated from Chico State with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with his show “Build-Up” featuring large cut-out figurative acrylic paintings of the artist’s bout with sleep paralysis. Now painting in oil, he is fascinated by the classical nude human form, surrealism, and pulls inspiration from the works of Odd Nerdrum, Salvador Dali, and Erik Thor Sandberg to name a few.
Solving the puzzle of how multiple figures collage together into one composition is a welcomed challenge for the artist. Dyer paints in a large scale often using vibrant opposing color combinations for his figures to contribute to the detailed layers and compositions. The arrow shaped panels help play with the larger composition of how two or more figures interact; also pointing the viewer along the way. Another steady inspiration throughout Dyer’s works is the chicken. The introduction of the chicken inflatable pool toy is an effort to experiment with new textures and welcome different explanations to darker themes.
Taner Paşamehmetoğlu
My practice delves into the perpetual sensation of being "stuck in between." Both of my parents immigrated to the United States from Turkiye and so I've been navigating the confluence of my American identity and cultural roots ever since I was little. Balancing the pursuit of the "American Dream" my parents toiled for, I find myself caught between the dualities of individualism and consumerism, and convenience, conservation and duty to community.
This sense of liminality extends beyond cultural identity, intertwining with the internal conflict between logic and creativity, which guides my path forward. This state of "stuck" is never motionless - it propels me down an unconventional, self-carved route where my practice becomes my sanctuary.
In my artistic journey, I revel in traversing diverse concepts, and experimenting with different styles and mediums, seeking to provoke thought and evoke emotion. I aim to employ shock with purpose, shedding light on overlooked perspectives through humor and absurdity, particularly when addressing weighty social issues.
Originally rooted in photojournalism, my creative endeavors have expanded, toggling between abstract and representational painting. I often collaborate with nature, allowing environmental elements to shape my work, blurring the line between artist and environment.
While my work may lack a conventional visual thread, sustainability often serves as a unifying principle. Influenced by my father's career dedicated to science and clean energy I see my work as a tool for communicating and advancing sustainability, ultimately fostering conversations and questions about the places we might all feel a little bit stuck within the world around us.
