No further barriers

By Kristina Tedeschi

Published on November 23, 2007

The abstract painting glowing from the interior of wunderarts in Amherst is familiar to anyone who has driven or walked by the Main Street gallery at night in recent weeks. The oil on mylar work, by artist Nicholas Hondrogen, is mounted and illuminated from behind with LED (light-emitting diode) lights in keeping with Hondrogen's original wish for his "Mumonkan Series," 21 pieces which are on view at wunderarts through Sunday.

But Hondrogen is not here to see it. The artist died from cancer last February in the Hospice of Fisher House in Amherst at age 55.

A native of Concord, N.H., Hondrogen spent time in Boston, New York, Paris, France and California, painting over 100 pieces on translucent mylar from 1996 through 1998, which he intended to photograph, enlarge and display on lightboxes. He planned on destroying the paintings, with the reproductions serving as originals. However, the work was never reproduced as planned.

At the Amherst gallery, Hondrogen's "Negotiating/Desperation" hangs illuminated on one side of a freestanding wall, while on the wall's opposite side the same work is displayed without backlight. The lit-up diptych's left side, with its bright pools of yellow and blue, suggests that negotiations are under way, while the right, with its blocks of black and spidery indigo strokes, hints that all is not going as planned. Although these two separate works are split by a thin strip of negative space, the piece is not disjointed. The colors, and the emotions they elicit, both unite and separate its sides, lending a cohesive feel to the entire piece, while eliciting two distinct reactions.

On the opposite wall, the same work without light almost looks like a different painting. The pinks, blues and purples are deeper in tone, jumping quickly to the eye. The differences between the diptych sides is not so pronounced - the "desperation" of the lit version is more muted here - leading the viewer to believe that maybe the negotiator was victorious after all.

Hondrogen's series is based on the Zen concept of Mumonkan, or the "gateless gate," which refers to the nature of enlightenment. Once a person passes through, he or she knows no further barriers.

After graduating from the Boston Museum School, Hondrogen moved to Paris, where he worked and exhibited widely in solo shows throughout Europe. He was also a sculptor and filmmaker. Hondrogen's works appear in the collections of La Bibliotheque National in Paris; at Prix Joan Miro in Barcelona; Barclay's Bank of London; Dartmouth College Museum in Hanover, N.H.; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; as well as many other museums and private collections in Europe and in the United States. After he was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, Hondrogen moved to Amherst, where he set up a studio.

Hondrogen's other works on display at the gallery are just as intriguing. The artist is adept as showing emotion through color and stroke.

In his painting "Mumonkan," the artist attempts to illustrate the gateless gate. Through its bright orange sun, which drips into a black labyrinth of paint, the feeling could be one of happiness or terror. Below, as muted lavender and taupe disappear into oblivion, a small port hole outlined in black seems to be shrinking in on itself. Could this be the gate? Depends on your perspective.

"Mumonkan Series: 1996 - 1998" is on view at wunderarts, 383 Main St., Amherst, through Nov. 25. Gallery hours are Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. The works are displayed with the help of the Nicholas Hondrogen Trust, which was founded after the artist's death to continue to disseminate his work. For more information, call the gallery at 256-6600 or visit nicholashondrogen.com.