| | Published September 7th, 2016
| This Lafayette Artist is Off The Wall
| | | By Sophie Braccini |  | | A Tony Zorich's sculpture. Photo provided |
Tony Zorich is a fine representative of "Outsider Art." Fearless and full of vital energy, his creations overflow with the joy of being alive. From Sept. 8 to Oct. 1 his colorful work is on display at Jennifer Perlmutter gallery in Lafayette.
Perlmutter very appropriately called the fall exhibit "Off The Wall." At the first level the 3D sculptures made of glass, fiberglass, wood and wire seem to literally emerge from the walls on which they are hung. The second meaning, wild and eccentric, is also very appropriate for the creations of this man who used to be a builder - he has "flipped" homes in the area for the past 20 years, even before the term existed, and one day decided that he could and would produce art.
Zorich's first piece was a copy of Van Gogh's vase of flowers. He had never learned to draw.
"I started doing it. I wanted to do it, so I did it, and that's all," he says. Now Zorich continues his painting in the Fauvism vein (Van Gogh, Seurat, Gauguin, CĒzanne), but also does sculptures, which is what Perlmutter is showing. He is also in the process of doing street art, and he has done performance art, with over 4,000 blue lights on a suit he wore at Burning Man. There too he constructed a 10-foot tall sculpture of an individual emerging from the sand. He plans to display it in Lafayette at some point in the future.
Some of the sculptures that will be on display in the Lafayette Gallery are made of wood, wire, paper and resin, with a little bit of oil painting.
"Some of his art is figurative, some is completely abstract," says Perlmutter, who just recently met the artist. She adds that he is a real Lafayette treasure. "Not only is his house full of art, but he also has a studio in town," she adds. She met Zorich when he came in her gallery one day. "That's what happen when you have a place like this, artists just come in and talk to you," she says.
Zorich says that his work is all about having fun. "Anything I want to do and that seems fun, I figure out a way to do it," he says, adding that he constantly has ideas for new creations and projects, "I have so many ideas, I will never finish them all." He says that he makes about two pieces a week, just because he is compelled to do it. He has not yet thought much about selling his art.
Perlmutter and Zorich had a nice time installing two very large fiberglass fishes that light up at night outside of the gallery. "Those are so fun, and I will add balloons for the Art & Wine Festival," says Perlmutter.
Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery is located 3620 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, and is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and by appointment. For more information visit www.jenniferperlmuttergallery.com.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA