A Teacher With Talent
 John Hrehov lays to rest an old, misguided adage.

Even before today's society began to push the upward limit on the cynical meter, there was a biting little saying: Those who can't do, teach. An indelicate statement of one-upmanship usually employed by the mentally and physically gifted to cast dispersions on those with a flair for the philosophical. In athletics it's almost a badge of honor since most top coaches were not superstars in their sport. In everyday life, however, with its run-with-the-big-dogs-or-stay-on-the-porch mentality, it's a saying tinged with cruelty and snobbery. Unfortunately, it may be accurate sometimes. Just not in the case of Fort Wayne artist John Hrehov. He blasts the cynicism that performance and instruction are mutually exclusive. Hrehov is an Associate Professor of Fine Art at IPFW and is currently enjoying his first one man show at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.

"This show means a lot to me." Hrehov says. "I've lived in Fort Wayne for 10 years and I have not had an opportunity to show a body of this many works together. The last time was in the museum's Regional Artists Biennial in 1996. Most of the works in this show have been exhibited in New York, Chicago, and Louisville."

This show. titled "Fearful Symmetry," is a very entertaining group of 13 works featuring Hrchov's unique use of color and light. The centerpiece of the show exhibits this deft touch. It also serves as a transitional piece for him. Titled "Battles in Shadows," it features a toy tank, a heart-shaped pencil holder and a wiffle ball. Also on display is the sculpture from which Hrehov worked to inspire the painting. The painting is vastly more interesting. As is the story behind the genre which also includes a bold painting featuring a chess board.

"I think it evolved early on," says Hrehov. "Through teaching drawing, I'm always stressing working from observation, and I kept going to flea markets and finding these interesting toys. I was attracted to them because some of them looked like sculptures, and usually the objects were somewhat animated. Implying something that was living."

Hrehov then brought that life to the canvas and now uses the insight gleaned from those works to inject personality into his other pieces. "I had done a number of paintings that used toys for inspiration and so this is kind of exiting that series and entering another. Primarily still lifes."

Still lifes which also have the ability to move the viewer. His paintings reveal ;in interest in layers of meaning through the use of visual clues, art historical puns. and biblical references to engage the mind as well as the eye. Color, contrast and symmetry all work to strike a some-times odd balance that serves to hold the viewer's attention. Hrehov's use of color is especially unusual in its relation to depth and dimension. While the light and shadows are there, what's lacking is the three-dimensionality of the subjects.

"The inspiration for the flat aspects of my paintings are based on contrast and comparison," says Hrehov. "Most of the objects I use are depicted with an emphasis on looking three dimensional. Convincingly so. I then contrast that aspect with an environment or surrounding which is opposite or rather flat. The flat areas provide opportunities to explore using color in a more expressive and sometimes artificial manner. I'm interested in the tensions created between depicting two and three dimensions with equal importance on the same plane."

If color takes center stage, then directing its orientation from just offstage is Hrehov's charcoal work. Three oil paintings on display have charcoal counterparts. In each case the black-and-white work was done first. As Hrehov explains, "It helps me get a sense of the shading. Then I can use the color to show light and dark and to show a contrast."

A contrast not only within each piece but between them as well. These dual-medium works are displayed side by side so the viewer can see the progression of the artist's touch as he moved from shades of grey to shades of the spectrum.

In addition to the eye-catching use of color, Hrehov's works also live up to their exhibit title. There is a certain tense symmetry to them. In the piece named "Coming and Going," two carriages are traveling in opposite directions. With its imagery and use of orange and blue tones it can represent a number of impressions. From the obvious of arriving and leaving, to the esoteric of sunrise and sunset to the disturbing of life and death. Hrehov will let you be the judge for yourself.

Many of his pieces will evoke that kind of wonder: what is he saying? or what am I missing? There is no definitive answer on meaning. Only on method. His works convey relationships. Those of color, size and proximity. Anything else is left up to your imagination. And John Hrehov's paintings and drawings are full of I thought provoking aspects. As evidenced by some of the comments left by viewers of the exhibit: "Very vibrant! A nice size show. Like one or two pieces of chocolate...satisfying but not overwhelming," wrote one museum visitor, and added another, "As a former student I can honestly say John has a wonderful grasp of color and object placement. He is truly a great addition to the museum."

So the teacher can also do. A triumph for taking knowledge and skill and applying them to both words and works. "I'm particularly glad to have an opportunity for my students to see some of my works in person," says Hrehov. "It allows them to see if l really practice what I preach." John Hrehov's "Fearful Symmetry" can be seen through May 14 at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
 By Larry Ell
 Whatzup Magazine, Fort Wayne, Indiana
 April 27, 2000
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