A few days ago, I wrote a story about the Beck Fine Art Gallery that was supposed to be in Leland, moving to The ArtWorks Gallery on Willard Street in Wilmington.
While I was at the ArtWorks Gallery for their Fourth Friday of the month show, I saw an artist working in his studio and I was immediately drawn in by his work. Resting on an old kitchen chair with a red paint spot on it, I saw a painting of this gray figure that looked like it was half statue, half human form, done in oil. It was the drama of the piece that pulled me in. The face is masculine and stark, with eyes closed, a thick neck and a heavy eyebrow. The “curls” around the face are tightly coiled and very well defined. The form itself looks like it could be rising from the depths of volcanic ash. Although he was resting randomly among other paintings, he commanded the room.
The artist, Anthony Bastasch, was happy to talk about his work and was incredibly modest about his level of talent. He is primarily self taught and said, “I have been drawing in pencil, graphite and charcoal my whole life. I started oil painting around 2021.”
The painting that drew me in, “Hercules,” was only the third or fourth painting that Anthony created. He continued, “The only education I have was one drawing class when I was 20 at a small community college in Wyoming.”
The level of talent that this young man has is truly incredible. His other works were hung around his studio like clothes on a clothes line. They moved slightly from the air conditioning, but there was also movement in the pieces. He did what I call a “cameo” piece of a young woman with red hair surrounded by splashes of blue in an oval shape. She is looking off into the distance and you can tell she is happy. You can see it in the slight smile she has–like she is seeing something that pleases her. The colors in this piece were well blended and serene.
Anthony was born and raised in Rancho Palos Verdes, California and then moved to Southport, North Carolina in 2020. His final move was to Wilmington in 2023. Please put the Fourth Friday Gallery show at the ArtWorks at 200 Willard Street in Wilmington on your calendar and stop and see Anthony at “Anthony’s Studio.” My words haven’t done justice to the level of creativity you will see from him.
