John Woodrow Kelley, Greek Mythology Now

John Woodrow Kelley, Greek Mythology Now is a monograph of Greek mythology paintings and a documentation of the evolving art world during his time. As a young student, Kelley was drawn to the figurative tradition in art. It had been a successful and beautiful vehicle for expression for thousands of years. Concurrently, he was drawn to Greek mythology for the way it expresses timeless elements of the human experience. He conceived a desire to reinterpret the Greek myths, reflecting the nature of our time, and employing a neo-academic figurative technique. When he began the series, however, the abstract expressionist movement was dominating the minds of the tastemakers, and he was told what he wanted to do was wrong, impermissible, and somehow immoral. The hostility he experienced from the art establishment was astonishing, but Kelley remembered from history that the old guard always fought new movements. Ironically, modernism, which had always prided itself on its eternal youth, was beginning to age and bitterly resented anything that might reveal its shortcomings. Kelley accepted his role as deranged artist and set about creating his Greek mythology series. He soon realized he was actually responding to a broad "new wave" of figurative art happening everywhere. Today such figurative artists as Claudio Bravo, Carlo Maria Mariani, Odd Nerdrum, John Currin, Eric Fischl, Lisa Yuskavage, Kehinde Wiley, and others are all critically acclaimed and mainstream. Greek Mythology Now is John Woodrow Kelley s contribution to this new wave. The book is a beautifully produced 12 x 10 terra cotta, debossed linen hardcover printed on satin paper stock, making it an ideal coffee table edition. The paintings were faithfully reproduced to the highest standards. There are additional notes in the back of the book describing the Greek myth depicted by each painting.