Four stars on the verge of explosion: Dennis Wymer, Jr.
Meet Dennis Wymer, Jr.
Part 2 of 4 – From the Fall issue of 7Bends of the Shenandoah Valley Magazine:
Winchester, VA – What is it like to be a young, talented artist today? Peek into the lives of four Winchester superstars:
On this planet we’re used to insisting on being presented with familiar, yet redundant pictures of things, in hopes perhaps of assuring us of our permanence on some level. Yet, we know there is something more…
Contemporary artist Dennis Wymer, Jr, 32, is into abstract art. Putting all bias aside, the abstract is amazingly realistic.
“I work with acrylic, chalk, powdered charcoal and spray paint. I see what I can do with disembodied figures, with life that does not yet have form to it,” he says.
Dennis is energetic and very physical with his work. His painting are huge. “I leave my work open-ended. Even if you think it’s crap, that’s completely valid,” he says with no defensiveness whatsoever in his voice.
“Abstract art speaks to the masses. It speaks of change,” Dennis says. One of his creations, called “Heartbeats,” pulses with life. The actual paint seems to quiver. He expounds a bit on the piece: “It’s organic. It’s a human piece, a complete flesh and bloodied-out field. It’s the farthest thing from violence; it’s a piece of peace. It’s a crowd of living, breathing, teeming life. It’s humanity hanging out together – human bodies waking up, pumping blood, and doing the things that we do.”
Color is certainly an integral part of art and life. Dennis uses a lot of oranges, and particularly purples. He says that his painting are actually “facilitated by purple.” In his man-on-the-street style, Dennis concludes, with a glimmer in his eye: “If you take away the physical, you see what’s there. “
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At the Woodstock Rotary meeting on October 14, 2009, Dennis spoke about the “Business of Contemporary Art in the Valley,” also describing the place from which he draws from to create his paintings. A versatile man, Dennis was also recently hired as the new Wrestling Coach at Massanutten Military Academy (MMA) in Woodstock, VA.
For more information, call Dennis at (804) 332-8758, or to see some of his other paintings, visit his web site.
