Rational Paranoia Painting

At Art Palm Beach 2019 A pattern in Kris Gebhardt’s work continues to take shape. Mixed media slathered across a reclaimed canvas, dark, muted or lifeless colors on top of texture and dusted with a gritty, metallic of one kind or another. What truly is amazing about Gebhardt’s work is that he is able to make each piece look and feel as different as it is the same. His offering Rational Paranoia borrows many elements from previous works but does so in a new and unique way. Upon first glance, this painting is haunting the viewer with shadowy, daunting figures. Very neatly placed “graffiti” peppers the canvas. By examining these phrases, certain opinions about the piece begin to take shape. Words that “pop” are the title of the work, “you,” “me,” and what looks like “ides.” Few phrases call to mind such a complete thought as “The Ides of March” from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The one word that hearkens to any student of literature who has read this play immediately conjures the scene where Caesar is betrayed by those closest to him. A cursory inspection of the image might lead one to believe that this is an ode to the Ides of March. However, drilling deeper a greater meaning emerges. All are haunted by the three ghosts in the painting – who we are today, who others want us to be and who WE want to be. We force our desires into hiding for fear that what we want is not possible – it is unobtainable. We “act out” who others want us to be or who we are today by “faking it until we make it.” We willingly surrender our “true selves” to the lasting madness that is always present. This only results in living our lives for others, portraying a lie and disintegrating into being a “fake.” Turning from this path of destruction and being rationally paranoid – being vigilant to avoid following others’ map – we can circumvent the imposters and channel our true selves. In fact, according to Gebhardt, “insanity could be defined as living your life according to how others want you to be.”