True artists don’t strive for fame. Nevertheless, it’s vital for their work to be seen, experienced and acknowledged for its uniqueness and creativity. The wider the audience, the stronger the artist’s influence on contemporary thoughts, opinions and consequently, their notoriety. Indeed, this artist — Ian Torney — is one who deserves recognition. He melds impressionism and realism — juxtaposed against a landscape theme.
Inspired by Hokusai’s “36 Views of Mount Fuji” and by Paul Cézanne’s long engagement with his series of paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire, Torney was motivated to paint a series of Mount Washington views.
Torney has learned the ropes, mastered the tools and techniques, and has quietly accumulated much deserved attention as an artist. But he doesn’t flaunt it. And that’s admirable. He’s refined his creative expression and style over four decades, and it shows.
I consider him a Renaissance man. One of those people who does a variety of activities and professional tasks and does them all well. What might they be you ask? Well, let me list them. He is an exceptional landscape artist — more about that in a moment — a soccer coach to soccer coaches, and director and curator of the Nesto Gallery at Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, where he is also an educator on its visual arts faculty.