OSCAR BERNAL

MASTER PAINTER, MASTER DRAFTSMAN

Among the Masters... . Rembrandt, Dürer, Velázquez, Goya, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the later Greats, James Ensor, Pablo Picasso, Heinrich Kley, Rico Lebrun and among his own compatriots such as Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, Frida Kahlo and Jose Clemente Orozco --- Oscar Bernal stands out as unquestionably one of the great draftsmen of the Millennium. His incisive line, mordant wit, and piercing revelations of the under belly of mankind's true nature will never be forgotten by any eye directly exposed to his paintings and drawings and will rank him in the company of that special group of the truly significant and profound artists whose existence we have the good fortune to know of.

The ideas and representations he depicts cut to the quick and sometimes make the timid viewer scurry for cover. But the honesty and unabashed inventive aesthetic of this super-talent bring back even the most timid eye to take a second look and being thus hooked, a further lifetime of hesitant but appreciative glances.

It is true that no one, no matter how great, can begin to match the depth and awe and profundity of the unknown masters of the caves but my tribute to Bernal needs a comfortable and accurate stopping place and those great masters' works well serve that purpose.

Perhaps Leonardo was more carefully composed, more delicately and elaborately lyrical, Picasso more experimental, Michelangelo grander, and Goya more acerbically detached; each had his own special power and strength, and we have yet to put our finger on just what specific quality Bernal's work possesses to allow him into the arena of the Universe of the Great. Yet it is unquestionably so.

At this point I would ask the reader to look at the work and tell me if this is not so. Is it his powerful use of lights and darks? His marvelous sensitivity to the blending of unimaginable color? The fluidity of his line? His blatant, trenchant insights into mankind's hidden vices? His brilliant anachronistic juxtapositions of unexpected bedfellows? His overall power and skill in the technical mastery of painting and drawing? His respect for and dynamic use of the great art that went before him? It is hard to say. But spend a few hours with his remarkable creations and please do let me know your thoughts; ultimately, he has me stumped. ___Muldoon Elder