SPLIT PAINTINGS
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During the 1990’s and into the early 2000’s. Val Lewton explored “split” paintings, combining disparate elements into a creative whole. Sometimes seamless, most often the subjects reflected a juxtaposition of West Coast to East Coast images, or the demolition (machines and destruction) in the surrounding city versus the beauty of the natural landscape, art or architecture. A keen observer of life around him, everything was fodder for his painting. In retrospect, one could foresee the fascination with “split” painting when observing the strong verticals employed in earlier urban landscapes.